Liam Rosenior has made an impressive start to life as Chelsea head coach and Wayne Rooney has praised his former Derby County assistant's coaching ability
Wayne Rooney pundit for Amazon Prime Video during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final Second Leg match between Aston Villa FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park
Former Derby County boss Wayne Rooney(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA, Getty Images)
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Wayne Rooney has questioned whether former Derby County boss Liam Rosenior will get the time he needs at Chelsea despite his impressive start at Stamford Bridge
And he also leapt to his old pal's defence over the way he is coming across in the media by insisting "he is just being himself".
Rosenior has enjoyed a successful start since succeeding Enzo Maresca as manager winning eight games out of 11 and are currently looking a good bet for Champions League qualification.
Rosenior was Rooney's number two at Derby where they formed an excellent partnership during the club's darkest hour when the club was plunged into administration.
And Rooney feels he has the tools to succeed, but is unsure whether Chelsea will afford him the patience.
"It's a big change for him, he's gone into a massive football club," Rooney said on The Overlap Fan Debate.
"His time with me at Derby, then Hull, then Strasbourg, I think there was a plan there with Strasbourg and Chelsea but it's come a little bit sooner than probably Chelsea and Liam expected. When you're going in, of course you're going in and you've got big players there, you've got World Cup winners there.
"He has to make an impact. He's tried to and sometimes less is more. Sometimes being behind closed doors with your team and doing whatever you're doing and sometimes less is more. What I will say, he is an unbelievable coach. When I worked with him, he helped me massively, helping me organise the team; on the training pitch and how he coaches.
"There is no doubt about his coaching ability. The challenge for Liam now is managing these top players. That's the biggest challenge for him. He's a confident person and a confident lad, so it's going to be interesting to see, between here and the end of the season as the fixtures are getting tougher and tougher. The question is, does he get time?"
Rosenior has already faced some barbs for the way he has handled press conferences amid claims he is playing up to the cameras.
But Rooney said: ""That's the thing with Liam Rosenior; you know him, but you don't know him," Rooney stated.
"You know his name, you know he's played - and no disrespect to - Hull and Brighton and teams like that. He's had a career in England where everyone knows him but they actually don't know him.
"Now everyone is looking at him and asking, 'is he putting this on? Is he trying to show he's the big man now?', but he's being himself."
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