Graham Potter admits Chelsea’s disappointing 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest underlined a lack of consistency that threatens to destroy their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
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Raheem Sterling put Chelsea ahead in the first half at the City Ground on Sunday.
But Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier leveled after the break and Chelsea were lucky to escape without an embarrassing defeat after Forest dominated for long periods in the second half.
Chelsea dropped to eighth place after failing to win for the sixth time in their last seven league games.
The Blues are seven points off fourth-placed Manchester United in the race to qualify for the Champions League with a top-four finish.
“We need to be more consistent. This will help the players come back, which is important and you can create consistency in the important places,” said Potter.
“It’s difficult because you have a lot of great teams with a lot of the best players and coaches.
“We have a long way to go, so it’s a mistake to think about what could happen in five months.”
Just months after replacing the sacked Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea boss Potter has come under fire as initial optimism following his move from Brighton has begun to fade.
Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Boxing Day should have given hope of a brighter period in 2023.
However, while it is too early for Potter to worry about losing the high-pressure job of his career, the 47-year-old will need more results in the new year to avoid putting Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly in an awkward position. .
“Our performance level wasn’t good enough to take the three points. We didn’t move the ball fast enough,” Potter said.
“Forest played a good game but we were disappointed with the performance and worried that we didn’t deserve to win. The bottom line is for us.
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta added to the gloom when he said: “Since the start of the season, we’ve lost a lot of points and we’re really far from where we want to be.
“We need to have a very good second half of the season if we want to play in the Champions League next season.”
Forest are in the bottom three having won just three games all season, but boss Steve Cooper will take heart from the way his side beat Chelsea in the second round.
The only dark cloud for Forest was the homophobic chants from the home supporters which drew condemnation from LGBTQ groups.
Brennan Johnson threatened an early goal for Forest when he ran past Marc Cucurella and Thiago Silva, but Kepa Arrizabalaga saved his teammates with a fine save.
– Jungle battle –
If it was a good break for Chelsea, Potter’s side got a bit more lucky when they took the lead in the 16th minute.
Christian Pulisic’s cross to Kai Havertz was intercepted by the feet of Forest defender Willy Boly, with the ball round the crossbar and bouncing perfectly for an unmarked Sterling to smash home from close range.
It was Sterling’s first league goal since August and just the sixth in all competitions for the England forward since his move from Manchester City in the close season.
But Chelsea’s first-half advantage quickly faded after the interval.
Kepa saved Chelsea with a brilliant save after Johnson latched on to Morgan Gibbs-White’s pass and unleashed a stinging shot.
Chelsea were on the ropes and Gibbs-White was inches from an equalizer when he met Ryan Yates’ pass with a sweetly-timed strike that cannoned off the bar and bounced to safety.
With Chelsea strangely losing in the second half, Forest’s pressure paid off in the 63rd minute.
Boly out-jumped Pulisic to head a corner to Aurier, who deftly controlled it on the chest before volleying through Kepa’s legs from five yards.