Chelsea
interim head coach Bruno Saltor said it had been a "difficult" 24 hours
following Graham Potter's sacking which will have left the players "sad" -
and suggested he intends to continue the work of his former boss during his
tenure.
Potter was dismissed on Sunday after a 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa saw
Chelsea slide into the bottom half of the Premier League table, despite
their record-breaking transfer outlay this season.
Bruno had joined the club as part of Potter's coaching staff but will now
step into the hotseat until Chelsea's owners appoint a permanent successor.
The former Brighton captain has never managed a team before and in his first
press conference underlined the pain the staff at the club had felt at
Potter's exit and hinted he would not be making major changes to the team's
way of playing.
"Obviously it has been a difficult 24 hours for all of us, for the staff,
for the families and now we have to live with the situation," he said.
"If I'm here right now it's because Graham and the club thought it was the
right step. I'm just here to help the club in the best way I can.
"I'm here right now, trying to keep the process going. We try to go along
with it the best we can. I think Graham did an amazing job. Football is a
really complex business and we have to keep going."
Bruno also said he expected the players to be hit by the news of Potter's
sacking, but insisted they must quickly switch their attention to the big
match-up with Liverpool on Tuesday night, which is live on Sky Sports.
"I couldn't see the players yet. We have an afternoon session planned," said
Bruno. "At the end of the day, all of us are responsible, we have to focus
on Tuesday's game and that's the energy we're working on.
"I don't have to give any clues to Liverpool [about team selection] but I
thought we dominated the game [against Villa]. We lost the game, there were
a few mistakes but overall it was a good performance, we had a lot of
chances and we're going to try to keep as close as we can [to that]."
When asked about whether he would like the job on a permanent basis, Bruno
smiled and said, "It's something I can't control. I'm focusing on what I can
control and going day by day."
However, he did reveal he had received support from the club's owners, Todd
Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, and will be trying to guide the team's young
players through this period.
"It's a massive challenge," Bruno said about being in charge of Chelsea.
"I've been just four years a coach but 24 years involved in football. I have
a lot of experience in changing rooms, trying to help players, guide players
because I've been in those situations before.
"I've got the feeling I can help especially the young players who haven't
been in that situation before."
Who is Bruno Saltor?
With no managerial experience, Graham Potter's first-team coach Bruno Saltor
is the unlikely man tasked with leading Chelsea until the end of the season
- but who is the Blues' interim manager?
The last name may throw you off, but Bruno - as he liked to be known - was
well-known as a player, having spent seven years with Brighton.
He was a cult favourite as a player with the Seagulls, making 235
appearances and helping the team achieve promotion in the 2016/17 season as
Sky Bet Championship runners-up.
Bruno was also key in establishing Brighton as a competitive Premier League
club, playing under Chris Hughton and Potter before retiring in May 2019.
His playing status is immortalised with a mural in Brighton entitled 'El
Capitan', which was painted on the side of a building in the city's North
Laine area to mark their first season in the Premier League.
After retirement, the former right-back joined Potter's coaching staff as
senior player development coach, before departing for Chelsea alongside the
now-former Blues manager in September 2022.
Now, Bruno finds himself in charge of one of Premier League's biggest clubs
- despite having only three and a half years' experience as a coach. His
first task will come against Liverpool in the league on Tuesday evening,
live on Sky Sports.
Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in their
statement: "Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind
Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season.
"We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter
final ahead. We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those
games so that we can end the season on a high."
He has the challenging task of trying to transform a disjointed and
underperforming side full of big-money players, as well as navigating an
extremely difficult Champions League quarter-final up against Real Madrid.
"Let's see where the future takes me and I will just try to be ready for
whatever comes up," Bruno said in an interview with Sky Sports in 2021.
He is now - for time being - the manager of Chelsea. Let's see if he's
ready.
top