Rosenior insists he has ‘100%’ Chelsea support after four successive defeats
Liam Rosenior says he has the full backing of Chelsea’s ownership despite four consecutive Premier League defeats without a single goal, as the Blues’ Champions League qualification hopes look increasingly fragile.
Matheus Cunha’s first-half goal on Saturday earned Manchester United a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, leaving Chelsea seven points behind Liverpool in the race for the top five with just five games remaining.
Asked directly if he felt supported by the team, Rosenior said: “100%. They have supported me in our daily discussions, the sports directors involved – they have shown support for me and the team. We rely on them. We know we need to win football games now.”
Last week, owner Behdad Eghbali publicly backed his manager, saying the club believed he could “be successful for a long time” while adding that Chelsea would “fix the system if it doesn’t work” and target more experienced players this summer after building the Premier League’s youngest squad.
Rosenior admitted that there was pressure but remained focused on the team’s path for a long time.
“You want consistent trophies and consistent success for this club. That’s what we’ve been talking about – right now, in the summer and how we’re building. We’re all clear on what we have to do, what we want to do and what we have to do to get this club back to where it should be.”
Fofana apologizes after the phone incident
Saturday’s defeat brought unwanted attention when pictures circulated on social media of Wesley Fofana appearing to mock first-team coach Justin Walker’s attempts to talk him out of the final whistle. Rosenior moved quickly to draw a line under the episode.
“I spoke to him about it and he was disappointed that we lost the game,” said the Chelsea coach. “I think he could have shown that emotion in a better way and I talked to him about that, but the optics are not true.
“The truth is that I have a very good team. We apologize for his actions, but these are young players who will make mistakes.”
Rosenior confirmed that Fofana will not miss Tuesday’s trip to Brighton because of the incident.
Injuries add to Chelsea’s woes
Chelsea dominated the game with possession and effort but couldn’t find a way through, a result that continues to hurt at the wrong point in the season.
Rosenior will be without Estevao for the trip to Brighton after the Brazilian pulled out with a hamstring injury on Saturday.
Joao Pedro also remains a doubt and will undergo a late fitness test. Levi Colwill, who is coming back from a long-term knee injury, played at full back on Friday but is not yet available for first-team selection and is set for more minutes with the Under-21s at the weekend.
Cunha’s goal came off the back of Bruno Fernandes, the Portuguese midfielder who registered his 18th assist of the season for Manchester United – two away from the all-time Premier League record shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
