It was during his first official engagement as Chelsea head coach that Liam Rosenior appealed for people to “judge what you see, don’t judge what you hear – judge us and be fair”.
Ahead of his team’s trip to Brighton on Tuesday evening, Rosenior did not sound like a man drowning amid the tidal wave of criticism circling Chelsea as he spoke calmly about the problems piling up in his in-tray.
But Chelsea fans can see their club are teetering on the brink of crisis and the only way Rosenior will keep his head above water is by arresting a run of four Premier League defeats without scoring, regardless of what he or the owners say.
Asked if he has received assurances that Chelsea’s owners will stand by him, even if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League, Rosenior said: “I’ve had many conversations with them. It’s a very direct question. I like it. They’re supporting me. They believe in me.
“The reality of the situation at Chelsea Football Club [is that] we’ve lost our four last league games. That’s not good enough. So, regardless of what they believe I can achieve with the club in the long term, I need to get results now with this group.”
If Chelsea’s results do not improve between now and the end of the season, then Rosenior will face judgment from those who have been backing him, and the picture does not look particularly pretty at the moment.
One league win in eight games has left Rosenior’s Chelsea closer to 14th-placed Newcastle United than fifth-placed Liverpool, and the 41-year-old’s problems have not been confined to performances and results.
Enzo Fernández was suspended for two games for fluttering his eyelashes at Real Madrid and was stripped of the captain’s armband when he returned against Manchester United in Chelsea’s latest defeat.
Marc Cucurella articulated doubts over the Chelsea project, which has presumably ruled him out of the captaincy debate, while Reece James is out injured.
‘Fofana could have shown emotion in better way’
And Wesley Fofana was seen throwing off a consoling arm from one of Rosenior’s backroom staff after being substituted against United, before appearing to ignore his head coach.
“My job is to be accountable,” Rosenior said. “The job for every head coach or manager, the buck stops with me. I pick the team. I speak to them about on the pitch, tactical things, cultural things. I’m willing to take accountability for that. I want to protect them, not in a patronising way, but I believe in them and I believe we will come through this period so much stronger. But we have to get this part right now.”
Rosenior acknowledged that Fofana could have reacted differently and has warned his players that their actions will shape their perceptions in the court of public opinion.
“Wes is a very emotional character in a good way. I love him,” Rosenior said. “As a guy, he’s not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. I’ve spoken to him about it and he’s just disappointed that we’re losing the game.
“I do think he could have shown that emotion in a better way and that’s something that I’ve spoken about. But the optics of that is not the reality. The reality is I’ve got a really good group. They’re working really, really hard for me and for the staff and for the club. At the moment, the results aren’t going that way and then people start reading more into it than what it actually is. Wes apologised for his reaction, but these are young players who are going to make mistakes.
“A lot of the work we’re doing with the group, with the players is not football. It’s not just football. We have a young group of players and that’s a really positive thing at times and with that comes a responsibility for me and my staff to help them through difficult moments. It’s where you get experience from.
“There are perceptions of this group that I want to change. I want to change the perception of them because I’ve got to know them very well. That takes time and they need to learn quicker than maybe they have done in the past for that to happen.”
Palmer: ‘Everything changes’ without Champions League football
Consciously or otherwise, Cole Palmer reignited speculation over his future by saying “everything changes” if Chelsea fail to qualify for the Champions League.
“I thought it was an outstanding interview by someone who cares about the football club,” Rosenior said. “Sometimes you can say words within a sentence and it changes the perspective on that context. Not everything changes, but what I don’t want to do is sit here and talk about us not qualifying for the Champions League because we’re still fighting for us.
“The reality is, does everything change? No. The plan, in terms of what this team needs and what we need to be successful, doesn’t. The context around that does. So, money, especially finances, that type of thing. We’re all aligned, regardless of whether we’re in the Champions League or not, and what this team needs, long term, to be successful. So everything doesn’t change, it just makes it a lot easier if we are in the Champions League.”
The one thing that will change if Chelsea’s fans and owners do not see improvement is the head coach. That is the reality for Rosenior.