Mateo Kovacic blames Chelsea teammates for Graham Potter's sacking

• Graham Potter was sacked at Stamford Bridge as manager last Sunday after a disastrous run of form
• His sacking came just hours after he had led the Blues to a 2-0 shock defeat against Aston Villa
• Potter has since been replaced with Frank Lampard, who took charge in an interim capacity until the end of the season

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has claimed his teammates should take responsibility for Graham Potter's sacking.

Potter was shown the door at Stamford Bridge last Sunday after just seven months in charge of the Blues.

The former Brighton boss had overseen a disastrous campaign at the west London club that has left them in danger of missing out on Champions League football.

The 2021 Champions League winners are currently rooted in 11th in the standings and stand no realistic chance of making the top four.

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According to The Sun, Chelsea's struggles under Potter have been magnified by the club's heavy expenditure, with the Blues splashing a massive £600million across two transfer windows.

Kovacic blames teammates for Potter's sack

While the buck stopped with Potter after Chelsea's struggles, Kovacic contends his teammates should take a bit of responsibility for the dire situation that cost the Englishman his job.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Croatian said:

"We need to be honest with ourselves. In the end it's easier to sack a coach than 30 players, but it's on us as well, we need to do better."

"We have to say thank you to Potter, who was here, who did a good job, but it's not easy when there are many changes here, so it was a tough situation for him as well," he added.

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Meanwhile, Frank Lampard has since been named the caretaker boss until the end of the season.

Lampard returns with 3 ex-Chelsea coaches

Sports Brief earlier reported that Frank Lampard will return to Stamford Bridge with three former Chelsea coaches following his reappointment as Blues boss.

The legendary midfielder has been named Chelsea's interim manager, replacing Graham Potter, who was sacked last Sunday.

Ashley Cole, Joe Edwards and Chris Jones, who were part of his coaching staff at Everton, have also returned to the West London club.