Chelsea: Appraising Liam Rosenior’s early Chelsea tenure

Rosenior has overseen a dip in form since beginning to introduce his own tactical methods at Stamford Bridge.

In his first month – when he won seven of his first nine matches – he largely, by his own admission, stuck to Maresca’s game plan because he had little time to work on the training pitch.

However, after avoiding the Champions League play-offs, Rosenior had time to bring more of his own tactical ideology into the team – and form has subsequently dropped.

In his first month, Rosenior focused on fixing some of the low-hanging issues, such as ill-discipline, raising the team’s intensity and improving concentration.

Yet back-to-back red cards against Burnley and Arsenal followed, Chelsea continue to be outrun in the Premier League, and lapses in concentration have become a weekly gripe from the 41-year-old.

He has also said he needs to rotate his players more effectively to keep them fresh, while facing criticism for not having a clear first‑choice goalkeeper amid a late‑season dip in form by Maresca’s former number one Rob Sanchez.

Rosenior told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We will now have more time to analyse instead of jumping from game to game, which we can do with less emotion and sit down as a staff to talk about how we improve.”

It is not only Rosenior facing growing criticism, as Chelsea supporters have begun chanting anti‑ownership songs and are planning a second demonstration at the stadium, alongside Strasbourg’s ultras, before the match against Manchester United on Saturday, 18 April.

If Rosenior were to fail, it would reflect poorly on the BlueCo leadership at Stamford Bridge, and it is a case of fighting on with success in the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League still a possibility.