Chelsea are once again on the hunt for a new head coach after Graham Potter's brief tenure was brought to an abrupt end on Sunday.
While the news might have caught some by surprise given Chelsea's insistence about Potter being a long-term hire when initially appointed, many will feel the writing was on the wall.
Premier League management is a cut-throat business and Chelsea's actions are the case in point, with Potter reportedly costing them £21million in compensation just 206 days earlier.
Despite his excellent reputation, Potter was unable to meet the demands at Stamford Bridge and leaves with a record that does him few favours.
Plumbing new depths
Chelsea's confirmation of Potter's dismissal was very respectful and made clear how remorseful they were about such a decision, but not even he would claim things have gone well.
Potter's record of 1.27 points per game in the Premier League is the joint-worst among Chelsea bosses to take charge of at least 20 matches in the division.
Considering how high expectations have become at Chelsea over the best part of the past two decades, that was a particularly damning return.
Potter leaves with Chelsea languishing in the bottom half of the table – 11th to be exact – and requiring something of a miracle to close the 12-point gap between them and fourth.
The last time they were not in the top half after at least 28 games was in 1995-96.
Additionally, with a haul of 38 points from 28 games, Chelsea have their worst total at this stage of a season since 1994-95 when they had only 36.
Core of the issue
There have certainly been occasions when Potter's Chelsea have been praised for playing good football.
But at no point have they been good at scoring goals, which is quite important in football...
Between November 6 and February 28, Chelsea scored just six goals in 15 games across all competitions, which was the fewest of any team from England's top four tiers.
While that spell was followed by a run of three successive wins, Sunday's 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa showed they were still suffering from the same issues.
They had 27 shots against Unai Emery's side, their most in a Premier League game without scoring since January 2014 against West Ham.
That feeds into a wider issue of wastefulness, with Chelsea underperforming their xG (expected goals) by 7.4 in the Premier League during Potter's reign, which is the worst differential of all 20 top-flight teams.
On top of that, Chelsea's 29 goals is their worst return at this stage of a league campaign since 1978-79, when they also only managed 29.
But was success without proper patience ever possible?
Chelsea's transfer activity was frankly ridiculous. Of the 32 players currently in their squad who have made at least one league appearance this term, 13 are new signings this season – and that does not include the likes of Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher, who returned from long-term loan spells.
His name may be Potter, but he cannot just wave a magic wand and guarantee cohesion – in reality, he was arguably always on a hiding to nothing.
Man Utd cannot afford to get complacent – Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag urged his players not to get complacent against a Burnley side who are still fighting for their place in the Premier League.
After a run of four games without a win in the top-flight, Manchester United came from behind with late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund to beat bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United on Wednesday.
The Red Devils sit in sixth place on 53 points, three more than Newcastle United below them, but have not yet secured a place in Europe next season.
When asked what kind of challenge Burnley would pose, Ten Hag was full of praise for the way Vincent Kompany has set up his team.
“They play high-intensity football. They have changed their approach slightly in the season. They have had good results and are hard to beat, and all the compliments to Vincent and his staff.
“We can’t afford to think [it’s only X] about any opponent. With the team we have available, we have to be creative. We have to take every opponent with 100% focus. We can’t allow and do a little bit less.”
Burnley’s survival hopes were given a huge boost last weekend with an impressive 4-1 win against Sheffield United, leaving them just three points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th.
With just four games left of the season, Kompany highlighted the characteristics have kept the Clarets within touching distance of the teams around them.
He said: “The biggest thing is consistency, hard work and making sure to not get distracted by the outside noise has been the main factor. We haven't found the recipe for Champions League football yet, but we are improving every game.
"I know we still have a chance and that's all that matters to me, whether it's two teams, three teams or four teams still in it, it doesn't matter too much to me.”
Pochettino urges Chelsea players to have more self-belief
Mauricio Pochettino has reminded his team to respect themselves as they prepare for another tough game against Aston Villa on Saturday.
After being knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City last Saturday, the Blues were thrashed 5-0 by title-chasing Arsenal in midweek for their 11th defeat of the season.
Chelsea still have an outside chance of finishing in the top seven as they sit just three points behind Newcastle United with two games in hand.
Asked if his side are capable of putting the disappointment of their last two results behind them, Pochettino said: “Lack of belief, in the circumstances, sometimes happens.
“We tried to realise how we need to behave when the game is tough when the demands are so high. We need to try and be more strong and to trust in the way that we play, in our philosophy, in the way we prepare the games.
“We need to be positive, and we need to be strong and believe tomorrow we can have a good game, good attitude, good approach. We are going to compete again with another team, fighting for the top. We need to think we are Chelsea and respect ourselves."
Luis Enrique confident PSG are in perfect form with three titles up for grabs
Paris Saint-Germain can wrap up the Ligue 1 title this weekend, and with the Champions League and Coupe de France still to play for, they are in the best possible form, according to manager Luis Enrique.
PSG host relegation battling Le Havre on Saturday, and a win will secure the league title with three games still to play, leaving them to concentrate on a Champions League semi-final with Borussia Dortmund and the cup final against Lyon.
"I think we are heading into the final phase of the season in great form," said Luis Enrique.
"I wouldn't have imagined this scenario going as positively as this, but what happens in the future is what happens. I would say we are in fantastic form in every way. We have almost every player available. Our supporters are very happy.
"The club has so much ambition to achieve something else. It is a really attractive end to the season, which we are motivated for, and we will continue to fight to achieve all our targets."
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