England forward Sterling completed a £50m move to Stamford Bridge last summer after ending his seven-year spell at the Etihad.
The 27-year-old has made an underwhelming start to his Chelsea career, scoring five goals in 18 appearances in all competitions.
‘I still rate Raheem very highly but he looks a little lost,’ Richards told BBC Sport. ‘It’s like he is a bit frustrated in terms of Chelsea’s set-up and, tactically, does not know what they want him to do.
‘Raheem joined another top club in Chelsea and it looked like the perfect move for him. But then they changed their manager and we have all seen the upheaval that has followed.
‘After a manager signs you and says you are their top guy, like Tuchel did with Sterling, it must be frustrating when a new manager comes in and wants to use you differently.
‘Every player just wants to have some stability. I think he is in good hands with Potter – let’s make that clear – but it is down to him to get the best out of Sterling now.’
Sterling scored 131 goals in 339 appearances for Manchester City, helping the club win four Premier League titles, five League Cups and the FA Cup.
Richards added: ‘The reason he was so effective at City was because he was part of a system that worked. He knew the system, and he fitted it because the runs he made were exactly what the team needed.
‘City also played the same way, dominating the ball with 70-80% possession, every week, but now he is in a team who are in transition after changing managers, and seem to change formation all the time.
‘The whole team are still figuring out how they play under Potter, so Sterling is not the only one who has to work that out.
‘Using him in different positions hasn’t helped. Ideally I want to see him high and wide up the pitch, preferably on the left so he can go either way – inside or out – when he runs into the box.
‘But whatever you call his role, you want him on the ball near goal, not in his own half having to run 60 or 70 yards to get a shooting opportunity.
‘For City, he would always pick the ball up inside the opposition half. When he made his runs into the area, he knew the ball was coming because of the players they had in their team to provide for him.
‘That’s not the case playing for Chelsea – he has to create things himself.’
Sterling’s dip in form has led to scrutiny over his place in Gareth Southgate’s England team for the upcoming Qatar World Cup.
England kick-start their World Cup campaign on November 21 against Iran and Richards believes Sterling should start despite his recent struggles.
‘You want your players to be in form, of course, but I think Gareth will stick with him this time too, and I can understand why after what he has done for him in the past,’ Richards said.
‘All season he has not been playing great but at least he is playing a lot, which is what he wanted when he left City.
‘I would start him against Iran too, as part of a front three with Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane. He deserves that faith, after what he has done for England in the past.
‘Let’s see how he does in the first game, and assess it after that. If he does nothing, then it might be time to rotate.
‘But we have seen before how Raheem has responded after basically being written off for England, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him remind everyone just how good he is.’
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