Chelsea manager Graham Potter accepted that Chelsea's upturn in fortunes is partly down to luck, but praised his squad for 'fighting through the storm' as the Blues aim to close the gap on the top-four in their bid for Champions League qualification.

Potter's side have recorded three wins on the bounce, defeating Leeds, Borussia Dortmund, and Leicester in recent weeks, partly repairing the previous damage of the past months, which saw Chelsea accumulate two wins in 15 games.

Ahead of their clash with Everton, Potter acknowledged the criticism he has faced, but praised the 'fight' of his squad for defeating the storm.

He said: "After three wins you have to say life is better. Results give everybody a bit of belief and a bit of happiness, and that's what we're here for, we're here to win.

"It's a difficult moment for us all associated with the club because the results weren't what we wanted. We all have to deal with that and I have to take that responsibility. 

"If the results aren't good enough, I accept whatever criticism comes my way and I have to deal with that. You have to come through the tough moments. It's all very well managing Chelsea when it's all going well. You have to deal with it when it's not going so well. I tried to do that as best as I could.

"It's handy to have that (a bit of luck). You need that. As much as you can be good, it's also important to be lucky. But you can't wait for that to come around. You need to keep going.

"Sometimes in football, you don't get the rewards and you have to fight through a storm. There was a storm, absolutely, but we've come out of it with three wins. We need to carry it on."

  • On Kante

N'Golo Kante is set to be in contention against Everton - the Frenchman has not featured in any capacity since sustaining a serious hamstring injury against Tottenham seven months ago - when former manager Thomas Tuchel was at the helm.

It will take time for the 31-year-old to regain full fitness, but there is a belief he will be match-fit for their Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid in April.

When asked if there is time to get him up to speed for the Madrid tie, the 47-year-old replied: "Yes. When you have a player injured for that length of time, you have to take those steps regardless of what our situation is, to take the steps to get him up to speed, get him back to the player he is in a responsible way, doing it as safely as we can which enables him to take the right steps to go forward.

"Once he is at his highest level he is a huge player for us."

Potter hailed Kante as a 'top player' and admitted that Chelsea's midfield have struggled without his unlimited engine and defensive stability.

He added: "Managers before me have spoken very highly of N'Golo because he is a top, top player. He's been a huge miss to us, not to say that the other players haven't given everything because they have, but N'Golo Kante is N'Golo Kante, he's a top player.

"It's great for us that he's back, we need to be mindful of the fact that he's had a long injury, we need to make the next steps to get him up to speed properly in the Premier League which is what we'll do."

 (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
(Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

The boss also confirmed that Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount will both be sidelined for tomorrow, but expects the duo to return after the international break, with the injuries being viewed as minor.

He said: "Raheem has a problem with his hamstring. It's not too serious but he'll miss the game at the weekend and he'll miss the international break.

"It's the same as Mason. Mason has been struggling a little bit with his pubic bone. He wasn't 100% the last game and is still not quite there, so he'll miss the England camp as well."

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