LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 21: Liam Rosenior, Manager of Chelsea, reacts during the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park on March 21, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Liam Rosenior (Image credit: Getty Images)
Liam Rosenior's Chelsea tenure has hit a rocky patch in recent weeks, having begun his time at the helm with a flurry of wins.
Defeats to Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United and Everton have ramped up the pressure on the recently-appointed Blues head coach, particularly due to the several-goal nature of the losses.
Rosenior's press conference soundbites have also been scrutinised by fans and pundits, with one former teammate of the Chelsea manager suggesting he's 'unrecognisable'.
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Liam Rosenior 'unrecognisable' to former teammate in Chelsea role
Liam Rosenior coach of Chelsea FC during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD8 match between SSC Napoli and Chelsea FC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on January 28, 2026 in Naples, Italy.
Liam Rosenior leads his Chelsea team in Naples
According to ex-Republic of Ireland international and Hull City player Kevin Kilbane, Rosenior has changed since he played alongside him in East Yorkshire.
"I played with Liam at Hull and I got on well with Liam, he used to tell some great stories of Roy Keane when he was his manager at Ipswich," Kilbane said.
WIGAN, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Kevin Kilbane of Wigan Athletic in action with Liam Rosenior of Fulham during the Barclays Premiership match between Wigan Athletic and Fulham at the JJB Stadium on March 17, 2007 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kevin Kilbane;Liam Rosenior
Rosenior tackles Kilbane during their playing days
"He’s unrecognisable to the player and the person I knew. It’s like he’s swallowed a psychologist’s manual or a sporting mentor’s memoir. To me, everything he says is waffle, drivel, nothing."
“It’s like he tries to write as many quotes down as possible and tries to get them into a pre-match talk or post-match whenever addressing the media. If I’m a player being asked to do that huddle, I wouldn’t feel comfortable if I was a Chelsea player."
Kilbane was discussing the decision to huddle around the ball ahead of Chelsea's game versus Newcastle, which saw the team beaten 1-0.
Images of the huddle, which some supporters have deemed performative, went viral due to the presence of match referee Paul Tierney being caught up in the middle.
Rosenior faced questions from the media regarding his methods as well as scrutiny online. The coach was seen passing a note with instructions to substitute Alejandro Garnacho during the closing stages of Chelsea's 8-3 aggregate defeat by PSG last week. This, too, was criticised considering the tie was all but over.