GARY NEVILLE joked Graham Potter might have asked for the sack at Chelsea.
And he compared the shambles at Stamford Bridge to a “kid in a sweep shop” before his emphatic bold prediction.
Potter was given the boot on Sunday night after a dismal seven months in charge, winning just three of his 13 Premier League games in 2023.
But the ex-Manchester United defender could envisage a scenario where Potter could actually have asked to be put out of his misery.
Neville told Sky Sports: “It just didn’t look right, no one is surprised. His record wasn’t great.
“Chelsea are a bit all over the shop, they are chaotic, it’s a bit like Football Manager or kids in a sweet shop – they’ve got lots of sweets and don’t know which to pick.
“Graham Potter is a good man. I think he’ll have gone home after being sacked and there is an element of relief. I don’t think he was enjoying it, he’ll have thought it was mad.
“They lost Petr Cech and Marina Granovskaia, that wasn’t planned, they lost Thomas Tuchel, that wasn’t planned. He’s come into a club in massive transition, paid billions and they don’t know what they are doing.
“The co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley made the decision to let Potter go.
“I suspect Potter actually went to Winstanley, knowing him from Brighton, and said, ‘Get me out of here. It doesn’t suit me.’
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“I don’t think Chelsea were enjoying Potter and Potter wasn’t enjoying Chelsea.
“He should treat it like a nightmare like this season never happened, put it to bed, wake up and come back.”
Potter left Stamford Bridge with the worst record of any Blues boss in the Premier League era.
And as well as struggling to get a song out of the host of new multi-million-pound signings, he also spoke out openly about the horrific abuse he received, including death threats for him and his family.
The ex-Brighton chief was offered an immediate return to a Premier League dugout with Leicester.
But he rejected the Foxes’ offer to replace Brendan Rodgers in order to take a break until the summer.
As for Chelsea, the club are beginning their search for a new boss while Bruno Saltor prepares to take charge for the Liverpool clash.
Julian Nagelsmann was the early favourite with the bookies but SunSport revealed Luis Enrique is a shock frontrunner.
But whoever comes in, Neville quipped the Blues could go and somehow produce another miracle in Europe.
He added: “It would be very Chelsea to go and win the Champions League.
“Todd Boehly might say that’s the end of the big spending for a while.
“But if they get Zinedine Zidane, Diego Simeone or whoever, they get a manager who wants another £300m because he doesn’t like some of the players.
“They need a manager who likes this squad and I think that’s Mauricio Pochettino.”
