Chelsea manager, Graham Potter, has revealed that some members of the squad claimed they had “the worst pre-season” under Thomas Tuchel last summer.
Potter is under pressure at Stamford Bridge after the Blues recorded only one win in their last 10 games.
Chelsea are currently 11 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
They also trail Borussia Dortmund 1-0 from the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie.
But Potter believes there are already existing issues before he replaced Tuchel in September.
“It’s really tough, I think my quote is, it is the toughest job in football, that was a few weeks ago.
“There are lots of factors for that. Again, if you just take the season, a sub-optimal pre-season, speaking to a couple of the experienced guys [who] thought it was the worst pre-season they’ve had for different reasons, that’s not to blame anybody, for different reasons that happened,” Potter told reporters on Friday.