Liam Rosenior is confident the Chelsea hierarchy will grant him the necessary power as Chelsea head coach, as he insisted: “I will make the decisions at this football club.”
Rosenior was all smiles as he held his first press conference as Chelsea’s head coach, ahead of his dugout debut on Saturday in the FA Cup against Charlton.
The 41-year-old Englishman was announced on Tuesday as the permanent replacement to Enzo Maresca, who departed as head coach after 18 months on New Year’s Day following a souring of his relationship with Chelsea’s owners and sporting directors.
Maresca had wanted greater power in decision-making than the Chelsea hierarchy were willing to grant him, but Rosenior has insisted he will be given the requisite authority to make decisions free from any interference.
Rosenior has worked with the Chelsea owners for 18 months, as head coach of Chelsea’s sister club, Strasbourg, in France.
“I will make the decisions at this football club,” Rosenior said. I’m not an alien, I know what’s being said in the press. But I will make the decisions.”
Chelsea fans are planning a protest on January 17 before the match against Brentford and on Wednesday night against Fulham many voiced their frustration towards the hierarchy at how the club is being run.
But Rosenior is confident he can bring fans onside and that the club’s mood can change if he begins to win matches consistently.
He takes over a team who have won just one of their last nine games, heading into Saturday’s meeting with Charlton.
“Every football club is unique in the way that it works,” Rosenior said.
“I have to say, my time at Strasbourg is the best 18 months of my professional career, of my life. The experiences that I've had, what I've learned, the people I've met and the people I work with here. I can say the guys I've worked with here, in terms of the overall project, have been nothing but supportive to me.
“They've given me confidence, have allowed me to make mistakes, have allowed me to learn. There's always going to be speculation about how these things work. I've enjoyed every moment and I intend to fully enjoy this next step in my career with them and hopefully bring everyone at the club success.
“I'm going to work 24 hours a day. I'm intense when I'm with the players and I'm going to push them as hard as I possibly can to be successful.”
