Rosenior position increasingly uncertain at Chelsea

Liam Rosenior’s position as Chelsea head coach is becoming increasingly uncertain following Tuesday’s damaging 3-0 defeat by Brighton.

Last week, Rosenior received public and private backing from the club’s hierarchy but on Wednesday none was forthcoming from BBC sources.

In addition, a number of players are understood to be unconvinced by the 41-year-old, who moved to Chelsea from Strasbourg just over three months ago.

The Brighton defeat was a fifth successive league loss without scoring, their worst run for 114 years.

Fans turned on Rosenior at the Amex Stadium, while the head coach publicly criticised his players after the loss.

Chelsea are seventh in the Premier League, five points adrift of a top-five spot and Champions League qualification, with four matches remaining.

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior said his team’s performance in their defeat by Brighton was both “indefensible” and “unacceptable” as he faced angry chants from his own supporters for the first time.

The chants began when Chelsea fell 1-0 behind at the Amex Stadium, with the visitors having barely registered an attempt on goal, and they eventually succumbed to a 3-0 defeat.

It was a worrying display and a further dip in performance given Chelsea did not have a shot on goal until the 40th minute and were error-prone defensively.

This was the Blues’ fifth consecutive defeat without scoring – their worst such sequence since 1912.

“It was unacceptable in every aspect of the game, unacceptable in our attitude,” said Rosenior.

“I keep coming out and defending the players – that’s indefensible, that performance tonight.

“The manner of the goals we conceded, the amount of duels that we lost, the lack of intensity in the team. Something needs to change drastically right now.

“I think the players need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics… tactics come after the basics.

“Having more courage to play, winning duels, winning headers, tackles, conceding terrible goals. That was an unacceptable performance tonight.”

Chelsea’s defeat played out in front of influential co-owner Behdad Eghbali and the club’s sporting directors on the south coast, where Rosenior began his coaching career.

Questions will grow over whether the Englishman can continue in the dugout in the long term, with a last chance to save the season to come in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Leeds on Sunday.

Seven points behind fifth-placed Liverpool, having played a game more, Chelsea’s Champions League hopes look in tatters and there are questions about whether the head coach, the players or the fans are on the same page.