Chelsea boss Graham Potter's take on Ronaldo, Ten Hag row hours before Man United game

• Graham Potter defended Erik Ten Hag’s decision to drop Ronaldo for the Chelsea clash
• Chelsea is preparing to host the in-form Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday
• Ronaldo walked down the tunnel before full time in United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham

Chelsea manager Graham Potter subtly defender Erik Ten Hag for his decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo for the Saturday, October 22 clash.

The new Chelsea boss was handed a slight boost as he will not have to fuss about the Real Madrid legend’s presence for the clash.

Ronaldo was suspended from the clash on Saturday because of his decision to leave early for the dressing room on Wednesday, October 19 during United’s game against Tottenham.

Reports claim Ronaldo briefly stayed in the dressing room before departing Old Trafford without congratulating his teammates.

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Potter was the latest to weigh in on the Ronaldo debacle and he was adamant the manager needs to always stick with his principles.

‘[Ten Hag] has taken his stance and sometimes you have to do that and the club have taken his support.” Potter said as quoted on Daily Mail.

‘I don’t know the full story so it would be difficult for me to comment fully but from a philosophical perspective sometimes you have to make a decision you think is for the good of the group and the culture and environment you want and there might be a short term consequence and there is a consequence that can come back to you but if you think it is the right thing then you have to do it.’

Potter has himself come under some mild scrutiny since becoming Chelsea boss as some critics argued the former Brighton boss might not have the stuff to deal with ‘big ego’ players at such a big club.

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But the gaffer actually saw the light side to the criticism, saying if there were big egos in his squad, their abilities would be a form of compensation.

Chelsea vs Man United preview

As far as the Saturday clash is concerned, it will be a crucial game for both teams.

Chelsea come into the game at the back of a 0-0 draw against Brentford, while Manchester United are enjoying a purple patch in the league.

The Red Devils are a single point behind their rivals and a win will help Ten Hag’s side leapfrog them into fourth place.

Jose Mourinho’s comments on coaching big players

Sports Brief also reported on Jose Mourinho’s interesting past comments about managing players like Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the video, the former Manchester United boss said a manager cannot teach big players like Ronaldo how to play football, according to Sportbible.

 "If you are not able to coach the big players, you are not able to coach anyone. It is very important for a coach to understand you are not going to teach them how to play football." He said.