Brighton and Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi was very sorry about predecessor Graham Potter s sacking by Chelsea but lauded his Seagulls legacy.
Potter left Brighton to take the reins at Stamford Bridge last September following the Blues decision to dismiss Thomas Tuchel.
But the Englishman was shown the door just over six months into the job, with Chelsea mired in mid-table and saddled with a slew of expensive signings.
De Zerbi, who filled the void at Brighton, has sympathy for the man he replaced, thanking him for the squad he was able to inherit.
I am very sorry [to see him go], he said. It is bad news for the coaches. I think you give too much importance to the coaches.
The players are always the most important and I don t like when coaches are sacked because the responsibility is not only with them.
-7.4 Chelsea underperformed their xG by 7.4 during Graham Potter s Premier League reign, the worst differential of any side since his first game in charge (21 goals from 28.4 xG).
-7.4 | Chelsea
-6.7 | West Ham
-6.1 | Everton
-5.8 | Southampton
-5.3 | Forest
Familiar.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
The players, the club, it s not very good news. I want to say thanks to Graham Potter. I have a team with a very good attitude and mentality.
It is difficult when you don t know the situation or another dressing room. I don t like speaking about other teams and coaches. I am sorry because when there are these situations, they are sad.
Having maintained Potter s promising start to the season to keep Brighton in the thick of a surprise European race, De Zerbi has already been linked with replacing him again at Chelsea.
The Italian is focused squarely on the Seagulls, however, adding: We are playing very well at the moment, but if we want to reach our target, we have to improve.
Our target is to play in Europe. Which competition? We will see. We want to play three times a week next year.
