Liam Rosenior brutally attacked Chelsea players after their side suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Tuesday night.
The Blues’ head coach gave a raw and emotional post-match assessment after Chelsea ended their run without scoring in five consecutive Premier League games, the club’s worst run since 1912.
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Goals from Ferdi Kadduoğlu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck meant Chelsea suffered a fifth successive league defeat, a performance that drew heavy criticism from pundits and fans alike.
Liam Rosenior furious at Chelsea players
In an interview with Match of the Day, a visibly upset Rosenior labeled the performance “unacceptable” and questioned the team’s fundamental application.
The manager specifically targeted the lack of intangibles, suggesting that the tactical set-up is secondary to the lack of heart and desire to win.
He described the team’s effort as “far from sufficient” and said he could not defend the players’ performance.
He said (via BBC Sport):
“I have my own opinions. I’m not here to make excuses. That was not accepted by everyone at the top who was involved with me. That needs to change.”
“It’s about accountability. I’ve defended the players when it was the right thing to do, but I can’t defend that performance. It doesn’t represent this football club, it doesn’t represent what I want from the group and that has to change.”
“I’m very angry and numb. I always talk about what I saw, but it was unacceptable. The goal conceded was unacceptable and that’s something I have to live with.”
“I look at teams, I look at individuals, and I look at teams that can be trusted to do the fundamentals of football. And we shouldn’t be talking about the fundamentals of football at this level. That’s something we have to adjust to very quickly.”
“Tonight wasn’t about tactics. This was about desire, spirit and courage, and tonight we didn’t have enough of that.
“It is far from good enough and we need to improve on it.”
Trevor Chalobar defends Chelsea player
In contrast to the coach’s strong criticism, defender Trevo Chalobah offered a different perspective on the team’s performance.
Despite statistics showing Brighton outscored Chelsea throughout the entire 90 minutes, Chalova insisted there was no lack of willpower and his players “knocked their socks off”.
When asked if Brighton showed further hunger, Chalova told Sky Sports (via BBC Sport):
“Personally, I thought the boys were knocking their socks off, everyone in the locker room was tired.
“It has nothing to do with effort. I gave it my all. I just lost today.”
Asked about data that suggests a difference in work rate, the defender remained defiant: “Today we ran. You can say the stats are like this, the stats are like that, but I know the players are tired. I don’t know.”
The internal rift comes at a critical time, with Chelsea currently seventh in the table and heading into the season-deciding FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United this Sunday.
