For weeks, all the reports in the media have been about how Chelsea are continuing to back Liam Rosenior and believe that he is the man to take the team forward in the long run. So much so that it had even been suggested that they would stick with him, even if they failed to qualify for the Champions League. Well, that qualification looks very unlikely now. And it feels like the tune around the situation is starting to change a bit as well.
Earlier, I covered comments from Fabrizio Romano. The Italian journalist suggested that Chelsea were continuing to back Rosenior. But also, he underlined multiple times that things needed to change and results could not continue like this.
On the other hand, Behdad Egbahli also mentioned earlier that football is a results business. Well, Rosenior most certainly is not producing them at the moment.
Now, Rosenior himself has spoken to the media. And did he accidentally hint that the feeling behind the scenes might have changed when it comes to his situation?
Has Rosenior dropped hint that a Chelsea sacking is possible?
Rosenior was asked by football.london if he has had assurances over whether he will still be head coach even if Chelsea fail to secure Champions League football. That is a very straightforward question.
But Rosenior did not give a direct answer. Instead, he seemed to dribble around the question without accepting or denying anything. He replied:
“I’ve had many conversations with them. It’s a very direct question, I like it. They are supporting me. They believe in me.
“There’s one thing I haven’t believed, the reality of the situation. At Chelsea Football Club, we’ve lost our last four league games. That’s not good enough.
“So, regardless of what they believe I can achieve in the long term, I need to get results now with this group and with the sporting directors as well and that is the reality of the situation.”
It is great that Rosenior is taking responsibility for the recent run of poor results. But again, it did not really answer the question, which will raise some doubts in the minds of the fans.
Sacking Rosenior would not solve all of Chelsea’s problems
Chelsea have a lot of problems right now. They might have gotten worse after the appointment of Rosenior, but they certainly did not originate after his arrival.
Sacking Rosenior won’t solve all of them as a result. A lot of other things need to change at the club as well.
It has to start with the recruitment policy, of course. But the club also need to rethink their wage structure, if they want to attract top players. They need to change the level of managers they seem to go for. The focus has to be on winning, here and now, like it was during the Roman Abramovich era. And then, perhaps, we could see the Chelsea of old back.
Sourav Mahanty
Sourav Mahanty has covered teams like Chelsea, Celtic, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG and more over a career that has now lasted a decade. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports, SB Nation, FanSided, The Sportster and aggregated through Bleacher Report and NewsNow. Outside of football, he is also interested in basketball, cricket and professional wrestling.
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