Marc Cucurella is urging Chelsea to give Graham Potter time as he looks ahead to the second half of the season

MARC CUCURELLA knows what Graham Potter is capable of.

He saw it at Brighton and is now looking forward to what is to come at Stamford Bridge after the Chelsea manager finally got some time to work with his side.

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Cucurella, who joined from The Amex in August, a month before Potter took the same path to replace Thomas Tuchel, admits the first part of the season wasn’t good enough.

Chelsea sit eighth, eight points from the top four. Not a familiar or comfortable position.

But Cucurella – who has signed a deal that could reach £62million – is ready to change that after the restart.

The Spaniard, 24, told SunSport: “It might be a different season.

“It’s really good for us, the last few games before the break we didn’t play that well or get any results, but this is a new season.

“We have to stick together, play good football and win games.”

Cucurella’s belief that things will change when the Blues return to the Premier League this month stems from his faith in Potter.

The former Swansea and Östersunds manager faced criticism when he first joined Brighton.

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They finished 15th and 16th in the top flight in their first two seasons before securing ninth place last season.

Thanks to his work, the Seagulls now sit above Chelsea in the table and are capable of worrying any of the big boys.

If Potter could do that in Albion on a fraction of his new budget, imagine what could happen in west London.

Cucurella smirked when asked if Potter’s tactic would be combined with a high-caliber squad.

He said: “We have big players to implement his ideas. I was very happy with him at Brighton and now he’s come here and I think it’s good for me and the rest of the team. He’s a good coach because his idea of ​​football is attacking.

“It’s all a process. The first season with Graham at Brighton the results weren’t good, they stayed down the table.

“They carried on with the same ideas, worked, worked and worked. Then, last season and this season, they played really well with the same ideas.

“We have to work and understand his ideas and the results will come.

“It’s difficult because it’s a new coach with different ideas and it’s difficult to change without time to train.

“In this part of the season we have time, we meet more and we know what the coach wants. I’m looking forward to this second part of the season.”

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Cucurella, along with Reece James, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jorginho and Ben Chilwell, belongs to a group of high-level players who did not take part in the World Cup.

This meant they were able to work with Potter for an extended period of time, including during a warm-weather camp in Abu Dhabi.

Cucurella added: “Once he arrived, it was a difficult training session because there are a lot of games.

“These weeks gave us time to train to prepare for the second half of the season. It’s good training together because you understand the movements of the players and the players.

“All changes are difficult. We have a lot of players who come with a new coach, not a lot of training time because we play a lot of games.

“We have to know his ideas and then play together – these weeks have been very good for us.”

Cucurella became the most expensive full-back in Premier League history when he joined Chelsea for an initial £55m, rising to £62m just a year after moving from Getafe to Brighton for £15.4m.

It’s been a big change in terms of pressure and environment for the former Barcelona academy player but one he’s enjoyed.

He said: “I really enjoyed it. It’s difficult and different, you have more pressure and you have to win every day.

“It’s different at Brighton because they might not have the same pressure and it’s not a big, big club.

“It’s amazing because I’m in a big club that all the players dream of playing here.”

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