Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was “shocked” to learn of Liam Rosenior’s Stamford Bridge sacking but believes the club’s hands were tied.
Former Hull and Strasbourg boss Rosenior signed a six-and-a-half-year deal in January but Chelsea have slumped since, most recently in a 3-0 defeat to Brighton to lose five league games in a row without scoring for the first time in 114 years.
Calum McFarlane will take charge until the end of the season, starting with Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds.
“I am shocked. I didn’t expect it to happen this soon,” said Hasselbaink, reacting on Sky Sports News. “I know that he was under pressure because, look, Chelsea is a big club, expect to win.
“It hasn’t happened before, or it (has been a long time) that they haven’t scored in five games, so the stats are not in his favour.
“But then still, because he’s been not that long at Chelsea, I would have thought that they would give him a little bit more time.
“I am a little bit surprised, but then on the other hand I’m not because it’s football. The shirt is heavy, the supporters are used to winning a lot of trophies, used to seeing the team competing week in and week out.”
“The (Brighton) game was poor.”
Club statement: Liam Rosenior
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 22, 2026
After that contest, Rosenior said: “You can read anything into it that you want and whether they’re playing for me or not. The performance in itself was damning. It stood against everything I believe in”, and revealed he needed to figure out “who I can trust and rely on in difficult moments, because not enough players showed that”.
He also added: “The buck stops with me. I have thick skin and I understand why the fans are frustrated.
Hasselbaink said: “You could see (why) he was saying what he said. He acknowledged that, but I thought he would get at least the Leeds game on Sunday. But look, they have to do what they have to do.”
