The Chelsea hierarchy reportedly intend to keep Graham Potter in the long term, regardless of their results for the remainder of the season.

Potter has endured a mixed start to life at Stamford Bridge, recording nine wins and seven defeats from his 21 matches since his September arrival.

Chelsea currently sit in 10th position in the Premier League standings and have been eliminated from each of the FA Cup and EFL Cup, both to Manchester City.

However, as well as being in the last 16 of the Champions League, the Blues have recently collected four points from fixtures with Crystal Palace and Liverpool.

In the background, the West Londoners have invested relentlessly in new players, the acquisition of Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez earlier this week being for a British transfer fee.

An unprecedented outlay of over £500m has taken place since the arrival of Todd Boehly and a consortium in the summer, as well as new members of staff being introduced in various departments.

Given those developments, it has been perceived in some quarters that Potter is under increasing pressure to deliver instant results if he wishes to remain at the helm in the long term.

However, according to The Guardian, Boehly and co will not react if Chelsea do not immediately improve their standing in the top flight or exit the Champions League to Borussia Dortmund.

The report suggests that the owners are keen to give Potter a full pre-season with his freshly-assembled squad with more players due to arrive during the next transfer window.

There is said to be an acceptance behind the scenes that a successful rebuild will take time, regardless of the increase in quality at Potter's disposal.

At some point, Chelsea will also have to heavily reduce their squad numbers in order to re-establish their position with FFP.

Potter is said to be relishing the chance to work with a balance squad, something which has not been made possible due to the influx of additions and minimal departures.

Chelsea are next in action on February 3 when they play host to neighbours Fulham in a crucial game in the race for a top-seven finish in the Premier League. body check tags ::