Sacked Chelsea boss Graham Potter rejects huge job and chance to return to management

Posted Tuesday, April 09, 2024 by Dailystar.co.uk

Graham Potter has reportedly turned down a job offer from Ajax.

The 48-year-old has been out of work since getting sacked by Chelsea in April last year, but has been linked with a return to management in the past few months with the likes of Manchester United sniffing around.

According to Sky Sports, Ajax recently held talks with Potter after making him their "prime target" to replace interim head coach John van 't Schip in the summer, but the ex-Brighton boss said no. It's understood Potter wants to return to English football and plans to exhaust all Premier League options before considering offers from abroad.

Ajax are nearing the end of an absolutely torrid campaign. They're sixth in the Eredivisie, having won just 12 of their 29 league matches, and are on course for their worst finish since 1965. On Sunday they lost 6-0 to Feyenoord, which is the club's joint-third biggest defeat of all time.

The Dutch giants sacked manager Maurice Steijn in October following a run of four defeats in five matches, and installed Van 't Schip as caretaker boss while searching for Steijn's permanent replacement.

Potter's seven-month stint at Stamford Bridge was hellish, though it doesn't look half as bad in hindsight given successor Mauricio Pochettino's struggles. He won 12 and lost 11 of his 31 games in charge, with the Blues ending the campaign in 12th place in the Premier League - their lowest finish since 1994.

It was the first time Potter underperformed as a manager, having had successful spells at Brighton, Swansea and Ostersund in Sweden. But dented though his reputation may be, the Solihull-born coach is far from damaged goods.