Sawt Falasteen - Chelsea spirits high despite horror run, says Potter

The Blues, who host relegation-threatened Leeds on Saturday, have not won in the Premier League since beating Crystal Palace on January 15 and are 14 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.

Their terrible run of just one win in 11 matches in all competitions has come despite an enormous outlay of more than £300 million ($359 million) in the January transfer window.

Potter received a further blow with the confirmation defender Thiago Silva will be out for around six weeks after suffering a knee ligament injury during last week's 2-0 defeat at Spurs.

But the Chelsea manager said the mood in the camp remained good.

"We're seeing a lot of positives day to day," said Potter. "But they haven't been able to transfer themselves onto the pitch in terms of results.

"Performances haven't been as bad as results I would say, but we know the business we're in and the results we haven't liked.

"But in terms of daily training, how the spirit is in the players, how the group is coming together, the players are getting stronger, that's all positive. But it's hard to talk positives because results aren't good."

Potter was eager to take responsibility for a run that have left his team 10th in the Premier League and almost certain to miss out on next season's Champions League.

The former Brighton boss said he sympathised with the frustrations of Chelsea's supporters.

"We're hurting as well, but we also know that they are," he said.

"It's understandable. We thank them for their support, because it's been there completely.

"When you lose at home 1-0 to the bottom team (Southampton last month), you expect a negative response. They've been fair with us -- we haven't been good enough to give them enough to be excited about with the team.

"Every team in the world has moments where they find it difficult, sometimes you have a moment where everything goes well.

"Our job is to fight through it. There's no other way. Keep working, sticking together, keep fighting through it and believing we can turn it around, and believing that a win is around the corner."

K.AbuTaha--SF-PST