Liam Rosenior did not hold back in a scathing attack on his Chelsea players after a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Tuesday night.
The Blues’ head coach delivered a raw and emotional post-match assessment following a result that saw Chelsea fail to score for a fifth consecutive Premier League match, a barren run the club has not experienced since 1912.
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAY
Goals from Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Jack Hinshelwood, and Danny Welbeck saw Chelsea lose their fifth straight league game, a performance that has warranted strong criticism from pundits and fans alike.
Liam Rosenior fumes at Chelsea players
Speaking to Match of the Day, a visibly shaken Rosenior labeled the performance “unacceptable” and questioned the fundamental application of his squad.
The manager specifically targeted the lack of intangibles, suggesting that the tactical setup was secondary to a lack of heart and desire to win.
He called the team’s effort as ‘no where near good enough’, stating that he can not defend the player’s performance.
He said (via BBC Sport):
“I have my own ideas, I am not here to make excuses. that was unacceptable from everyone involved with me at the head of it. That needs to change.
“It is accountability. I have defended the players at times when it was the correct thing but I can’t defend that performance. It doesn’t represent this football club, it doesn’t represent anything I ask from the group and that has to change.
“I feel numb I’m so angry. I always speak on what I see and that was unacceptable. The goals we conceded were unacceptable and that is something I have to hold my hands up to.
“I will look at the team, will look at individuals and I will look at a team I can trust to do the basics of football and we should not be talking about the basics of football at this level. It is something we have to adjust very quickly.
“Tonight was not [about] tactical. This was about desire, spirit, courage and I did not see enough of that tonight.
“Nowhere near good enough and we have to improve that.”
Trevoh Chalobah defends Chelsea players
In contrast to his manager’s strong critique, defender Trevoh Chalobah offered a different perspective on the team’s display.
Despite statistics showing that Brighton outran Chelsea across the 90 minutes, Chalobah insisted that there was no lack of willpower and the players ‘ran their socks off’.
When asked if Brighton showed more hunger, Chalobah told Sky Sports (via BBC Sport):
“I thought personally that the boys were running their socks off. Everyone in the changing room is tired.
“It’s nothing to do with effort. We gave it our all, we just got beat today.”
When pressed on the data suggesting a disparity in work rate, the defender remained defiant: “We ran today. You can say the stats this, the stats that, but I can see the boys are tired. I don’t know.”
The internal disconnect comes at a critical time, with Chelsea now sitting in seventh place and facing a season-defining FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United this Sunday.
