Graham Potter hailed his side’s character following their narrow 1-0 victory over Leeds United United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

Wesley Fofana’s header off a corner kick by Ben Chilwell in the 53rd minute gave Chelsea their third win in the last 16 games they’ve played in all competitions.

It was Chelsea’s first goal in 396 minutes, and it was only their second goal in seven games across all competitions. They are in 10th place in the Premier League, so they are not doing well.

Potter had to wait 48 days for his team to score at Stamford Bridge. During that time, the Blues manager had been getting a lot of bad press.

Fans of Chelsea wanted him fired, and some even sent death threats to the former Brighton manager and his family.

“The boys are giving everything. We’re playing against one of the best teams in the league in terms of intensity. If the game starts to become Hawaii (flamboyant) football, up and down, it can be a challenge for us,” Potter said.

“But they stuck at it. The crowd were great, they want us to do well. They want us to win with more comfort, and we all want that. But the moment we’re in, it’s not so easy to do.

“Probably the second half was a bit of ‘we’ve got something to lose’, which is where you’d expect us to be given the run we’ve had. It’s really good for the players to win a game and have that feeling.”

Ending a streak of three straight losses will give Potter some breathing room before Chelsea tries to come back from a 1-0 deficit against Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 match.

“It’s good for confidence, good for morale. The boys are suffering because they care, they do. Our supporters have been suffering as well,” Potter said.

“It’s been a tough period for us. The win gives us a chance to recover, and to prepare for a massive game (against Borussia Dortmund) on Tuesday night.”

Fofana, who used to play center back for Leicester, made his first start for Chelsea since he hurt his knee against AC Milan in the Champions League in October.

Potter thinks that Fofana could lead by example while veteran defender Thiago Silva is out with an injury.

“We’ve missed Wesley. It was the Milan game at home when he had his injury, that’s a long time ago,” Potter said.

“He brings something different, he lets you defend a little bit higher up the pitch because he’s got the pace and physicality to recover.

“He’s a young player, he’s adapting to Chelsea. He’s got the personality.”