Graham Potter to use World Cup break to 'refocus' after Chelsea's poor run continues

Blues lost third straight Premier League game with a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday

Newcastle United's Joe Willock celebrates scoring in the 1-0 Premier League victory against Chelsea at St James' Park on November 12. Action Images

Joe Willock celebrates after scoring. Getty

Joe Willock of Newcastle United scores at St James' Park. Getty

Chelsea's Conor Gallagher and Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron battle for the ball. PA

Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek after sustaining an injury that saw him being replaced. Action Images

A view of a Newcastle United banner showing support for manager Eddie Howe. Getty

Chelsea manager Graham Potter is under pressure after another defeat. Reuters

Graham Potter said Chelsea will use the World Cup break as an opportunity to "refocus and reenergise" after Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United extended their miserable run of form.

After an encouraging start since replacing Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea manager at the start of September with six wins in nine games across all competitions, Potter has since overseen four defeats in their past five matches, including three straight in the Premier League.

It leaves the Blues down in eighth place, eight points adrift of the top four, as club football takes a break for the Qatar World Cup, with Chelsea not back in action until December 27.

"It’s been tough. We’re not in a great moment," Potter said. "We have to lick our wounds. We have a break now so we have to refocus, reenergise and hopefully get some players back. It’s been an incredibly intense period.

"You have to accept the struggles you’ve had and then move forward. It’s change of scenery, a change of focus and when everyone comes back we can start again."

Joe Willock's superb strike in the second half settled the game for high-flying Newcastle, who cemented third spot heading into the break after a fifth straight win in the league and further raising hopes the Magpies could be playing Champions League football next season.

Newcastle have the added advantage of a less congested schedule, with many of their top four rivals involved in European competitions.

"You could see the two teams’ different schedules, Newcastle with one game a week and us after a six-week period with a lot of matches," Potter said. "It probably took its toll.

"The boys gave a lot but we lacked a bit of quality," the Chelsea manager added. "There were too many unforced errors. When we tried to play we got through a couple of times, but there wasn’t enough quality.

Newcastle v Chelsea player ratings

NEWCASTLE PLAYER RATINGS: Nick Pope – 6. Took the safe option after running out of his goal to deal with a through ball and didn’t have much to do outside of that in the first half. Made a great save to deny Conor Gallagher in the second period. Booked in the latter stages as Newcastle saw out the game. Reuters

Kieran Trippier – 7. Made some great passes and defended well but wasn’t always able to get his usual quality on crosses into the box in the first half. Booked for a cynical foul on Christian Pulisic but then made a brilliant tackle to legitimately deny the winger. EPA

Fabian Schar – 7. Picked up a head injury in the opening seconds when fouling Armando Broja but recovered to largely defend well. Made a mess of his shot from Trippier’s corner but did well to block Mateo Kovacic’s attempt. EPA

Sven Botman – 8. Had a heavy fall after going over Broja and underhit a pass back but recovered well to ensure there was no punishment. Made a great header to stop Mason Mount’s cross reaching Broja, then did well to hold up the striker when he tried to get behind in the second half. PA

Dan Burn – 7. Let Edouard Mendy off with a poor touch but put in a solid display after that and made a great header to clear Gallagher’s free-kick delivery while also nullifying the various players who went onto Chelsea’s right. Made a big tackle in the final stages. PA

Sean Longstaff – 6. Put in a lot of good work in the middle but lacked the required quality whenever there was a chance to trouble Chelsea. Had a shot saved from close range then sent another over the crossbar. Booked for a poor tackle on Marc Cucurella in the final moments. EPA

Bruno Guimaraes – 7. Overhit a few passes that could have caused problems for Chelsea’s backline and saw a shot from range blocked. Moved the ball well in deeper positions and broke up the Blues’ play on various occasions. Reuters

Joe Willock – 8. Beat Cesar Azpilicueta nicely before getting a dangerous cross into the box but wanted too much time when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box. Came agonisingly close to finding Chris Wood with his cross and then hit a superb strike for the game’s only goal. Reuters

Miguel Almiron – 7. A couple of his flicks didn’t come off and he fired over from a promising position. Worked hard and his pressing forced Thiago Silva to play the ball out for a throw. Drove inside to get the ball to Willock for the goal and had some bright moments after that. Getty

Chris Wood – 5. Having linked play well in the early stages, he faded out of the game and struggled to get involved again after that. AFP

Joelinton – 7. Pressed brilliantly at times and did well to hold onto possession in some tight areas but his header went comfortably off target. Nice knockdown for Longstaff’s chance. Getty

SUBS: Callum Wilson (Wood 76’) – N/R. Made a nice flick-on and was intelligent enough to win a free-kick from Kovacic. Getty

Jacob Murphy (Willock 85’) – N/R. Made a positive run forward that didn’t come to anything and worked hard for the final moments. Getty

Matt Targett (Botman 87’) – N/R. His headers near the halfway line were very unconvincing after Chelsea had cleared Newcastle corners. PA

CHELSEA PLAYER RATINGS: Edouard Mendy – 6, Looked uncomfortable with his feet throughout, notably getting away with a poor pass that went straight to Burn. Good save to deny Longstaff from close range but had no chance of stopping Willock’s attempt. Came close to reaching a free-kick delivery after going up at the end. Getty

Cesar Azpilicueta – 6. Kept things simple on the ball and mostly defended well, heading away Guimaraes’ cross into the box. Reuters

Trevoh Chalobah – 6. Wasn’t punished when he lost the ball in his box but grew into the game a bit and stopped Willock’s threatening run at the second attempt. Could have got closer to Willock for the goal. PA

Kalidou Koulibaly – 5. Played some terrible passes but conjured a great header to stop Willock’s header from reaching Wood, then stopped a cross from reaching Almiron. Didn’t do much to stop Almiron driving inside for Willock’s goal. Booked for a late foul on Almiron. Reuters

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 5. Went down injured in the fourth minute after playing a pass and was forced off. Reuters

Jorginho – 6. In the position to save Chalobah when he lost the ball in his own box and started the move that culminated in a tame shot from Broja. Booked for a foul on Guimaraes and sold himself when being beaten by Joelinton. Getty

Mateo Kovacic – 6. Made a good burst forward to get Chelsea up the pitch but his poor pass on another occasion saw his side’s move forward break down. Great block to deny Guimaraes. AFP

Lewis Hall – 7. Adapted to Premier League football well and did a good job on the left. Fed Broja nicely for his wasted opportunity. Did well to stop Trippier’s attempted pass to Almiron. Reuters

Conor Gallagher – 6. Had some nice touches in good pockets of space but went down too easily at times. Worked hard for the team and got across well to block Burn’s shot, although he was too eager to win the ball at times after moving to right-wing-back which allowed Newcastle to get behind him. Looked a bit better after returning to the middle and had a good shot saved. Reuters

Mason Mount – 5. Almost found Broja with a ball that was eventually cut out by Botman and was involved in the move that resulted in Broja’s shot. However, there were periods where he was pretty much invisible. AFP

Armando Broja – 5. Did well to hold onto possession in some tight areas and worked hard for the team but hit a tame shot when his one big opportunity came. Had a very quiet second half. AFP

SUBS: Thiago Silva (Loftus-Cheek 7’) – 6. Good positioning allowed him to block Guimaraes’ shot and deal with Longstaff’s cross. Made a great header to clear a cross from deep, rose well for a header in the opposition box but couldn’t get it on target. Reuters

Christian Pulisic (Azpilicueta, 45’) – 6. Tried to drive forward and get Chelsea moving forward, forcing Trippier into a cynical foul before then being legitimately halted by the right-back. Getty

Hakim Ziyech (Mount, 73’) – N/R. His first cross attempts were often blocked but his corner delivery created a great chance for Kai Havertz. Got back well to stop a Newcastle move forward. PA

Marc Cucurella (Hall, 73’) – N/R. Came agonisingly close to finding Havertz at the near post but looked weak at times. Getty

Kai Havertz (Broja, 73’) – N/R. His shocking header attempt went comfortably off target but he then made an intelligent run that made life awkward for Pope. EPA

"In a game of not too many chances, they get the winner, and as much as we push at the end, it wasn’t enough."

As Chelsea's season threatens to unravel, optimism is high at Newcastle and manager Eddie Howe admitted the club has some major targets while trying to stay focused on short-term results.

"When you're in our current position you'd be foolish not to be. I'm excited by what can be, while respecting the quality of the league," Howe said.

"We haven't thought about any permutation or any consequence of the games. We've just tried to win them and I think that's the best way for us to attack the second half of the season as well."