Acun Ilicali has no regrets about sacking Liam Rosenior from Hull City, insisting the former Tigers boss's possession-heavy style is perfectly suited to the Premier League and Chelsea
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent and Jake Stokes
14:10, 07 Jan 2026
Liam Rosenior
View Image
Rosenior is set to begin his work at Chelsea later this week(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Acun Ilicali, the owner of Hull City, has expressed his belief that Liam Rosenior will excel at Chelsea, stating that his style of play is perfectly suited to the Premier League.
Ilicali gave Rosenior his first full-time managerial role when he appointed him at Hull City in November 2022. However, their professional relationship ended after the Tigers failed to reach the Championship play-offs at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Despite parting ways professionally, the pair have remained close friends, with Ilicali expressing his pride at Rosenior landing such a prestigious role. He admitted surprise at how quickly his former manager had risen to one of the top clubs in the Premier League.
While Ilicali doesn't regret letting Rosenior go, he admits it was one of his most difficult decisions, given their close friendship which saw them attend the World Cup final and Champions League final together, as well as holidaying in Turkey during their 18-month partnership.
"I really respect Liam as a person first and foremost, but also as a coach. I felt that his style was not suited to the Championship and I wanted something different in the end," said Ilicali.
"It was a really hard decision to part ways because of the relationship we had together, but I felt it was the right one to make.", reports the Mirror.
"I said at the time I felt Liam would go on and be very successful, and that's proved to be the case with the job he did at Strasbourg and now being given the chance at Chelsea, which makes me very proud."
Ilicali has opened up about his first encounter with Rosenior, the former City player who secured his coaching badges whilst still playing at the MKM Stadium. The 41 year old's drive was evident from the outset, according to the chairman.
He said: "When I made the first interview with Liam, I saw a young manager full of passion and focus on being successful as a manager.
"I was in Los Angeles when I had the first interview with him. We met on Zoom at first, and he really just affected me. I was really impressed."
Ilicali explained that he'd been impressed by City's match against Derby County, where Rosenior served as Wayne Rooney's assistant. He added: "The reason I made the interview was that I had watched our game against Derby County, when he was assistant to Wayne Rooney, and I liked what I saw in that game, so when I saw his passion and his energy, I decided to give the job to him.
"I can say that we had very good times together. He lifted the club, and it was a very good period together, and of course, I'm very proud that now he's gone to Chelsea.
"Actually, I'm surprised, but I have to say that in world football now there are very young managers who have become successful, like Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich, and like Liam, he's a good friend of mine and we talk regularly. He gave us big support last season, even though he wasn't our coach.
"From the young manager's side in football, everything has changed now, so I think it's a good idea to go and take on the challenge. I'm surprised, yes, but at the end of the day, when you look at his career, he's stepping on, and it's understandable that Chelsea has given him a chance.
"I want Liam to be successful, of course, but at big clubs, success is not very easy, and he will know there are so many challenges. It's not easy to stay for a long time when you are young, and this is a big disadvantage. Liam, of course, will need some time.
"If he doesn't finish high up in the Premier League, then of course he will have stress, but I would advise Chelsea to give him more time because it is not his team now. He will be happy to adopt the team players, and in the long term, if he can play with his players, he will be successful, I think."
Rosenior will be taking charge of some significant characters in the Stamford Bridge changing room, but Ilicali is backing him to earn the respect of his new squad, which includes several players he's previously worked with.
"His man management is top," the Hull City owner said. "We had the stars in our team, like Jean Michael Seri, Ozan Tufan, and Fabio Carvalho. He had Liam Delap at City. We had six players who went into the Premier League, so he had some of British football's best young stars.
"He managed these relations fantastically well. The players loved him, and one of the most important abilities he has is his communication, which I think is top-level. He knows how to talk to his players."
Ilicali believes Rosenior possesses the capabilities to nurture Chelsea's emerging stars, pointing to his impressive work at Hull with the likes of Liam Delap, Tyler Morton, Jacob Greaves, Jaden Philogene and Fabio Carvalho. He stated: "He's the best at developing players.
"He developed Liam Delap, he developed Tyler Morton, and he developed Jacob Greaves. Look at the numbers before him, you will see that he improved them very much.
Article continues below
"He's the type of manager who can develop players, and this is a big advantage for Chelsea because they have such a big squad and young players. I'm sure that he will pick some of them and develop them to the top level.
"His type of play was not suitable for the Championship, but it's more suited to the Premier League. The way he plays is all about having the ball, lots of possession and in the Championship, if your team is not suited to that, you will suffer.
"In the Premier League, he will have the weapons to play that game, and he will have a big advantage. I wish him all the best, and will be watching closely, and I would love to see our club come up against Chelsea in the Premier League in the near future."