“Only winning matters,” says Graham Potter after UCL draw puts Chelsea against Real Madrid

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By Martin Graham | 18th Mar 2023

Chelsea manager Graham Potter has praised Real Madrid ahead of their 2023 UEFA Champions League quarter final clash while stating that winning is the only thing that matters.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion manager is slowly regaining the trust of the fans after a torrid start to 2023 and is now faced with the biggest challenge of his career as manager of the Blues.

However, he has expressed confidence in a very surprising fashion which goes against his usual mild-mannered demeanour. Potter is looking to win “the f***ing Champions League” as a way to prove his and his team’s ability despite their struggles this season.

“We’ll try and beat Everton [in the Premier League today], take the draw and then we will try and win the f****** Champions League,” Potter said at a hospitality event for the club’s staff.

He also expressed the same confidence when the draws were confirmed and he was drawn against veteran manager Carlo Ancelotti. “I said we would try to *bleep* win the Champions League! That’s the same for every seven clubs.

“They will also say that they could lose in the quarter-final because that’s the nature of the Champions League. We’ll focus on Real Madrid when we get there. At the moment, it’s Everton.

“The feeling is excitement but, as I’ve said, I’d rather speak about Everton because that’s the [next] The other stuff is a long way away.”

His confidence has sent sparks of positivity round the Chelsea fan base ahead of the fixture. He then spoke to the media’s comparison between his display of confidence and Ancelotti’s calmer disposition towards the tie upon the completion of the draws.

“I can’t be bothered to speak about how people think you should be,” he said. “Carlo Ancelotti should be him, Pep Guardiola should be him and Jurgen should be him and I should be me. I don’t care what you think is my response to that.

“The simple thing is if you win you can be whoever you want to be and if you lose somebody wants somebody different and that’s the reality.

“You just have to be yourself, be authentic. Otherwise if you try to act the situation finds you out. He has been himself for the whole of his career and done extremely well.

“I don’t know him personally. I played against him when he was the coach at Everton. He’s a gentleman.

“There’s nothing I can say for how much he’s achieved in his career. It’s amazing. The length of time between his first and last Champions League wins – 20 years – it’s incredible.”