Graham Potter has warned Chelsea's new signings about the derision they will face from opposing fans after Fulham's supporters described Enzo Fernandez as "a waste of money".
Chelsea had three of their January signings in the starting XI as they slumped to a goalless draw at home to west London rivals Fulham on Friday, leaving the Blues 10 points adrift of the Premier League's top four.
Chelsea spent a reported £294.8million in the January transfer window alone, making Fernandez the Premier League's record signing on deadline day having already acquired Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto.
Though Fernandez was largely impressive on his debut, the World Cup winner was taunted by Fulham's travelling fans, who directed chants of "what a waste of money" towards him.
Potter knows Chelsea's recent arrivals must get used to that type of treatment, saying: "It's not just Enzo, it's the whole team.
"It's normal because we have spent the money we've spent and you guys aren't going to let that go under the radar, so all of football will be singing that song.
"We need to improve as a team. If you look back 18 months, Chelsea were not scoring and they thought they would spend £100m on a centre-forward and that would fix all the problems, and it didn't.
"You have to act better as a team. That's our challenge. That's what we need to do."
Chelsea's spending has attracted criticism from rival managers, with Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp joking he would not speak about the Blues' business without a lawyer present.
Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, implied there would be more of a backlash if the champions embarked on a spending spree similar to Chelsea's.
Asked about those comments, Potter said: "Everybody's entitled to their opinion. It's a free world, it's free speech, which is good.
"[Guardiola and Klopp] are entitled to their opinion. I don't worry too much about that. They've got their right to speak."
With Chelsea winning one of their six Premier League games since the turn of the year, Potter is under pressure to get his squad to gel quickly, but the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss does not know how long it will take.
"I don't think anyone could give you a timescale," he added. "If I could get a month for every time I was asked that question, I would be here for five years."
Juventus hit back from two goals down to salvage a draw at Cagliari
Juventus fought back from two down to salvage a 2-2 draw at Cagliari but the result did little to dispel speculation over the future of manager Massimiliano Allegri.
Allegri has faced heightened scrutiny over his long-term prospects at the Turin club after a poor run of form.
The Old Lady hit the Serie A summit in January but have struggled for victories in recent months and almost suffered a painful defeat to old boss Claudio Ranieri.
Cagliari raced into a two-goal lead after they were awarded two first-half penalties, which Gianluca Gaetano and Yerry Mina dispatched.
However, Ranieri was denied a victory as Dusan Vlahovic pulled one back before Alberto Dossena put through his own net with three minutes left to leave Juventus in third position with Bologna and Roma breathing down their neck after winning only two of their last 12 league matches.
Allegri made two changes in an attempt to arrest Juve’s stuttering form with Carlos Alcaraz and Timothy Weah handed starting opportunities.
It failed to have the desired impact with Cagliari able to quickly take control of the contest with away stopper Wojciech Szczesny the busier of the two goalkeepers.
After a strong start, the hosts were rewarded with the chance to go ahead on the half an hour mark when Bremer was penalised for handball after a header by Dossena.
Gaetano fired into the bottom corner from 12yards but not long after the celebrations had finished at Stadio Unipol Domus the hosts were awarded a second spot-kick.
Szczesny was the guilty party on this occasion after he brought down Zito Luvumbo and received a caution for his foul. Former Everton defender Mina stepped up and sent Szczesny the wrong way to spark jubilant celebrations in Sardinia.
Juventus did have the ball in the net before half-time, but Vlahovic’s tap-in was ruled out for offside and the deficit remained at two.
Kenan Yildiz was sent on by Allegri for the second half and the visitors did pull one back in the 61st minute.
Federico Chiesa and Vlahovic stood over a free-kick and the latter curled a delivery around the wall for his 17th goal of the season.
It provided hope for Juve and the next roll of the dice by Allegri was the introduce Weston McKennie and Arkadiusz Milik.
Juve upped the ante during the final exchanges but when Vlahovic volleyed over from close range, it looked like time might run out.
However, Allegri’s side found an equaliser with three minutes left when Dossena put the ball into his own net after a dangerous cross by Yildiz.
Yildiz almost produced a stoppage-time winner too but fired straight at Simone Scuffer late on as the points were shared.
Oxford frustrated in play-off push as Stevenage force draw
Oxford squandered a great opportunity to strengthen their bid to reach the play-offs when they could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Stevenage.
It leaves them in sixth place in Sky Bet League One, three points ahead of Lincoln, who have a game in hand and superior goal difference.
Stevenage, who lost manager Steve Evans to Rotherham this week, held out for a point despite not having a shot on target – they scored through an own goal – and being under constant pressure.
Stevenage took the lead against the run of play in the 32nd minute when defender Sam Long, pressured by Kane Hemmings behind him, turned Nick Freeman’s left-wing cross into his own net.
The U’s felt they should have had a penalty when Ruben Rodrigues threaded a pass through to Marcus Browne, who looked to be fouled by goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray in a race to reach the ball.
But referee Tom Nield ignored Oxford’s appeals for a spot-kick.
They were awarded one in the 58th minute, though, when Carl Piergianni brought down Rodrigues on the edge of the box after the Portuguese forward got goalside of him. Cameron Brannagan converted.
The home side dominated the first half, with MacGillivray saving Rodrigues’s fierce drive, Long glancing a header just wide at a corner, and Mark Harris nodding wide from a good position.
The second half saw much of the same, MacGillivray saving from Finn Stevens and from Josh Murphy when he raced through.
Stevenage nearly won it late on as Long cleared off the line and then a shot was deflected off a defender and against a post.
Raith Rovers keep unlikely title bid alive with narrow victory at Inverness
Raith Rovers rode their luck to keep alive their slender cinch Championship title hopes with a smash-and-grab 1-0 win at third-bottom Inverness.
Caley Thistle, looking for a third successive win to further boost their survival push, hit the goal frame four times and saw visiting goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski produce a host of stunning saves.
But in the end it was Lewis Vaughan’s 49th-minute strike that settled the contest as Raith, who could have seen leaders Dundee United win the league on Saturday if they had lost at Caledonian Stadium, close the gap on the pacesetters to three points.
Duncan Ferguson’s Inverness created several good chances to take the lead in a one-sided first half, with Dabrowski keeping out Cammy Harper’s 25-yard free-kick before Alex Samuel was denied by a goalline block.
The hosts came even closer in the 21st minute when Harper fired against the bar and then saw Dabrowski fling up a leg and somehow manage to block his follow-up.
Rovers had done little to prove they were the team at the top end of the able in the first half but four minutes after the restart they took the lead, top scorer Vaughan getting on the end of a flick-on to coolly guide the ball past Mark Ridgers.
That proved to be the game’s decisive moment as the Raith goal continued to lead a charmed life, Samuel seeing a curling shot come back off the far post and the brilliant Dabrowski turned over a shot from the same player.
Inverness then hit the crossbar twice in quick succession, Danny Devine and James Carragher seeing headers come back off the goal frame, before Dabrowski tipped over a stoppage-time effort as Raith somehow held on for the three points.
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