Graham Potter was called “Harry” and “Hogwarts” by Chelsea players behind his back prior to his Stamford Bridge sacking after failing to command the same respect as his predecessor Thomas Tuchel, according to reports.

Potter was relieved of his duties on Sunday with the Blues in the bottom half of the table after a dismal 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa the previous evening.

The 47-year-old won just 12 and lost 11 of his 31 matches in charge after leaving Brighton to replace Tuchel in September.

Despite leading Chelsea to the Champions League quarter-finals, he struggled to win the players over and they believed he lacked authority, as reported by The Athletic.

This led to him being called “Harry” and “Hogwarts” by Chelsea stars when out of the earshot of their manager.

The belief within the dressing room was that he was simply a “yes” man, taking on a squad of over 30 players which left some stars having to change in the corridors due to a lack of space in the main changing room.

Eghbali was not just involved in transfers either, as he would regularly watch first-team training sessions from the sidelines.

Potter never raised any issues with this, but Chelsea’s players felt this was an ominous sign the Englishman was clearly under pressure to turn things around.

Potter’s actions before and after games also caused much bemusement in the dressing room, with players questioning his selection calls.