Chelsea boss Graham Potter has been told to develop a more ruthless element in his management than those like Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.
Potter was the boss of the Blues in September, leaving Brighton to join the West London club.
Potter’s men have not won in their last four league games and dropped to seventh in the standings.
He got off to a positive start in his life at Stamford Bridge, winning five of his first six games in office. Potter also led them to first place in their Champions League group.
But the past few weeks have seen Chelsea come into shoddy form with the club winless in their last four Premier League games, including defeats in their last two.
This is not the ideal form for a club aspiring to finish in the top four and the former Chelsea player is concerned that the team will look “easy” to face him.
Townsend also advised Potter to follow in the footsteps of many of his fellow Premier League coaches.
“When I look at Antonio Conte, when I look at Thomas Tuchel, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, they’re frantic, kicking every ball and challenging every decision,” Townsend told Drive.
“They are ruthless in what they are trying to do and try to accomplish.
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The likes of Klopp often seem furious on the sideline.
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While Potter has a much calmer demeanor.
“I don’t think Graham can keep going out there and say they’ve been beaten by the best team and they’ll learn from that… you can’t keep doing that at Chelsea. You can do this in Brighton.
“This has to go, that attempt to keep everyone together and make everyone happy. I think at some point, to be a successful manager at the top of this league, he will have to develop that more ruthless element of what Chelsea are trying to do.
“Right now I’m watching them and it’s pretty easy to play against them.”
“All coaches need 2-3 windows … he’s dealing with good players, great players, best players and he has his own philosophy to implement and you have to win games as you try to implement it,” Townsend added.
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Chelsea were outclassed in the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal and Townsend is concerned it will now be easy to play against the Blues.
“I see the way those other teams run their clubs and I think Graham is still stuck in Brighton mode.
“That’s what he does, but he’s going to have to find something else to get the best out of the best players, to get more out of those guys.
Because right now what I’ve seen recently from Chelsea on top of the pitch is nowhere near that, nowhere near that.
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