In his Monday press conference for Bayern Munich, Thomas Tuchel noted that Chelsea had changed a lot since he was in charge. However, for the moment, it seems not a great deal has changed following the sacking of Graham Potter and Bruno Saltor being placed into the Blues hot seat on an interim basis. In many ways, Bruno’s style reflected his former boss with the 42-year-old giving little away. He was candid enough to admit that Sunday’s events left him with little time for sleep, with Potter’s coaching staff and their families left in a difficult position
Bruno Saltor said: “I didn’t sleep a lot, it’s a new situation, there’s a lot of things to consider but I will sleep tonight. As you know, it’s not my decision. It’s the club’s decision The club has asked me to step up and to be professional. It happened just yesterday, we need to reflect and think about it. We will work and assess and see.”
Bruno will not be afforded much time before he needs to provide his expertise and quickly supporters will see whether he will offer much different to Potter when Liverpool arrive at Stamford Bridge. It appears he will have the same tools to choose from with no change in injury news
Bruno Saltor said: “I’ve been coaching for four years and I’ve been under Graham, he’s been the manager and always had the last word. It’s quite clear that’s not going to be the case. Tomorrow is going to be the first time [[selecting a starting XI]. I feel good, it’s my duty, it’s a responsibility and I’m in a really important club and I want to try my best.”
The departures of Potter and Billy Reid and the uncertain futures of the likes of Bruno, Kyle Maucauly and Bjorn Hamberg certainly leaves a sting. Putting the team in place did not come cheap with Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali delivering in excess of £20million to Brighton in addition to the cost of sacking Thomas Tuchel in September.
Bruno Saltor said: “Chelsea, what they are trying to do is a long project as everyone knows. Graham was part of it, we were part of it and I think the vision of the club doesn’t change. Yeah obviously there is frustration because processes take time. All of us know the situation here and it is what it is. We need to focus on tomorrow and focus on Liverpool. Thinking about the past and what has happened before is not helping me now.
So often a change in head coach can result in a bounce for a club. Given Chelsea’s descent into 11th place in the Premier League this term, would that be damning of the players following Potter’s departure? Bruno believes it is the players’ duty to be at their best.
Bruno Saltor said: “I think in terms of the job of the players it is to perform well to try their best in every single training session and every single game. Tomorrow we will try our best to stay on under a new manager – It’s not a question I can answer right now.”
