Chelsea manager Graham Potter told of chaotic pre-season under previous boss Thomas Tuchel

Graham Potter has revealed some senior Chelsea players told him that last summer's pre-season preparations under his predecessor were the worst they had ever experienced.

The club sacked former boss Thomas Tuchel in September less than seven weeks after the team returned from touring the US, a turbulent two-week trip during which the German's relationship with the Blues' ownership began to break down.

Players had their professionalism questioned publicly by the manager after a chastening friendly defeat to Arsenal, with co-owner Todd Boehly quickly losing faith in the coach that won the Champions League just a year previously.

Tuchel's removal marked the end point of a rapid decline following victory in the final against Manchester City in Porto, that came amidst an unprecedented turnover of personnel on and off the pitch after the club's sale to Boehly's Clearlake Capital consortium.

Potter, who was appointed as Chelsea's new manager six league games into the season, has inherited the fallout from that overhaul, with his new-look side's struggle to find form culminating in a chastening 1-0 defeat at home to the Premier League's bottom side Southampton last Saturday.

Players signed during the January transfer window at a total cost of more than £315million (€357m) are yet to make a decisive impact on improving the team's fortunes.

"It's really tough," said Potter, whose 10th-place side travel to face Tottenham on Sunday. "I've said this is the toughest job in football. There's lots of factors for that. We had a sub-optimal pre-season, speaking to our experienced guys, they thought it was the worst they'd ever had. That's not to blame anybody. It happened.

"Organisationally, the tour didn't work as well as they'd like. I wasn't