Chelsea head coach Graham Potter reportedly fears that a bloated first-team squad is affecting the message that he wishes to convey during training.

During the January transfer window, the Blues signed as many as eight players, six of whom have since linked up with the first-team group.

However, just one notable departure - that of Jorginho to Arsenal - materialised, and it has left Potter having to work with 31 senior players for the second half of the campaign.

A number of players have spent time in the treatment room, freeing up space on the training pitch, yet the Englishman still faces having to accommodate more squad members than he would ideally like.

According to the Daily Mail, Potter is uncomfortable with the current predicament with it preventing him from enforcing his usual methods.

The report claims that Potter has sometimes had to leave players waiting around or taking part in smaller groups due to the sheer amount of players at his disposal.

Potter is said to prefer conducting matches involving 11 players per team, something which is not proving to be effective as with his previous clubs.

Despite the encouraging performance at Borussia Dortmund earlier this month, Chelsea have performed poorly in the matches against Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur that have followed.

On both occasions, Potter made six alterations to his starting lineup, some of that process owing to recently-returned players requiring rest before being recalled.

Nevertheless, rather than looking fresh versus Spurs on Sunday, Chelsea were one-paced and never looked like equalising when falling behind at the beginning of the second half.

As well as failing to win a Premier League fixture since January 15, Chelsea have netted just four goals in their last 10 fixtures in all competitions.

While the general consensus is that Potter will continue to be backed by the club's hierarchy, an element of doubt remains given the magnitude of their upcoming matches.

Chelsea play host to Leeds United on Saturday as they bid to keep their hopes of European qualification through the Premier League alive, before they square off in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Dortmund three days later. body check tags ::