Liam Rosenior warned about ‘getting punched in the face’ amid Chelsea dressing room eruption
Liam Rosenior’s managerial skills will be put to the test in the Chelsea dressing room amid “punched in the face” claims.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who states Rosenior has many hurdles to overcome to prove he is a Premier League manager.
Rosenior joined Chelsea as manager after the club had sacked Enzo Maresca after 18 months in charge, and following a fallout with the club hierarchy.
The 41-year-old joined from Strasbourg, who are part of BlueCo’s multi-club ownership model, with some Chelsea fans underwhelmed by Rosenior’s appointment.
Liam Rosenior to face ‘very hard’ Chelsea challenge
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – questions whether Rosenior can handle the pressure at Chelsea.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness believes Rosenior will have to show adaptability in the role.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “It seems like he’s eloquent, he’s well known for having great management skills with players, but he’s never done it in the Premier League. And again, can he handle the pressure that comes with being in the Premier League?
“All those demands I mentioned of the media, of the sponsors, of managing up, down, five sporting directors, all these different things take away from what he saw as his pure vision. There are so many times I’ve mentioned this to people about how Mike Tyson used to have his famous phrase of everybody has a game plan till they get punched in the mouth. Well, it’s the same in football.
“Too many people are purists and believe that they have the strategy, and they can walk into a club, and they can implement it until they get punched in the face on day one and something happens, and all of a sudden you’ve got to be able to manage day to day and you’ve got to be flexible.
“I’ve always said you’ve got to have a spine of a strategy rather than an actual strategy and try and implement it. You’ve got to try and work through it despite all the different things that are going to come at you day in day out. And that’s the test for Rosenior.
“He may have an idea of where he wants to take things, but the reality is day in day out things come and punch you in the face, and staying on strategy is very, very hard and that takes experience and knowledge. So we’ll see.”
Rosenior powerless as Chelsea fall to defeat
Rosenior watched from the stands as Chelsea lost to Fulham 2-1, with the former Hull City boss set to take charge of his first game against Charlton in the FA Cup.
The defeat means the Blues have dropped to eighth in the Premier League table, and are on a five-game winless streak.
Rosenior has two matches before his first Premier League game in charge at Brentford, with a Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal on the horizon.