Chelsea sack 'best thing that happened to me' - Potter

Eight former Chelsea managers have taken charge against the Blues at Stamford Bridge after leaving the club in the Premier League - none have won across those 22 games

West Ham boss Graham Potter says getting sacked by Chelsea was "maybe the best thing that happened to me".

Potter takes the Hammers back to his old club on Monday (20:00 GMT) - his fourth Premier League game in charge since being appointed in January.

The former Brighton boss was dismissed by Chelsea in April 2023, less than seven months after replacing the sacked Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge in September 2022.

However, Potter said he had no "bad feeling" towards Chelsea and wanted to learn from the experience.

"You know in a football life you're going to get ups and downs," added the 49-year-old, who won 12 of his 31 games in charge of Chelsea in all competitions.

"I didn't want to lose my job. But at the same time I look back now and maybe it's the best thing that happened to me.

"Maybe the next 10-20 years is going to be great because of the experience I've had.

"I just look at it as a learning experience. I've got no bad feelings towards Chelsea, I've still got a lot of good relationships with the people there.

"But I'm just looking forward to the journey I'm on now with West Ham at this great club and getting that connection with the supporters, working with the team and building something that we're really excited about and proud about here."

Chelsea spent more than £550m on new players in the season Graham Potter was sacked

Potter previously described his ill-fated stint at Chelsea as a "perfect storm".

"I can only look back now and think, just like everybody in life, you can have good things and bad things," he added.

"They make you better if you use them in the right way, and I've done that and so therefore I'm grateful for the experience."

West Ham have four points from three games under Potter and came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa last Sunday.

The Hammers are 14th in the table on 27 points after 23 games, while Chelsea are in sixth spot.