Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior finds himself under increasing threat of the sack after the Blues lost to Brighton on Tuesday with a performance he branded “unacceptable”.
Rosenior has found himself under pressure immediately since replacing the popular Enzo Maresca in January.
And the threat hanging over the Englishman’s job grew in midweek as Chelsea were hammered 3-0 by Brighton. It was their fifth Premier League loss in succession without scoring – the club’s worst league run since 1912 – and their seventh reverse in their last eight games ahead of an FA Cup semi-final with Leeds on Sunday.
Rosenior reacts furiously to Brighton defeat
Just three months into his new job, Ronsenior admits that he has grown tired of defending this group.
“It was unacceptable in every aspect of the game, unacceptable in our attitude,” he fumed.
“That’s indefensible, that performance tonight. The manner of the goals we conceded, the amount of duels that we lost, the lack of intensity in the team. Something needs to change drastically right now.
“I think the players need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics… tactics come after the basics. Having more courage to play, winning duels, winning headers, tackles, conceding terrible goals. That was an unacceptable performance tonight.”
How close is Rosenior to being sacked?
There is little doubt that Rosenior is a manager under pressure, but Chelsea are eager for this appointment to work.
Co-owner Behdad Eghbali explained last week that he is sympathetic to Rosenior’s case, admitting that the club did not want Maresca to leave.
“Our policy has been no in-season changes,” he said. “It’s not a change we wanted to make. It’s a change that had a bit of a negative impact in the season, when you’re changing systems and personnel, and it’s one we’ve got to fight our way out of.
“I think the perspective is stability, and frankly, getting that stability on the manager side is one of the things we haven’t done right yet, and it’s something we’re striving to improve on.”
“We think Rosenior has every attribute to be successful here. He got off to a great start. We’ve had a tough past five, six matches, but I think we’re behind Liam. Of course, it’s a results business, but we think he can be successful long term.”
Previously, the Daily Mail’s Chelsea expert Kieran Gill stated that it would take “an absolute meltdown” for the Blues to part with Rosenior before the end of the season.
He admitted that he did not know exactly what this might look like, but with Chelsea having lost seven of their last eight games and on their worst league run in more than a century, it’s certainly not looking good for the manager.
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