Rosenior praises revived Chelsea’s ‘extreme mental toughness’

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior praised the mental strength of his players for completing a string of victories since taking over last month, with the only setbacks being two defeats to Arsenal in the League Cup semi-finals.

Rosenior’s side came from behind at the end of January with consecutive 3-2 victories over Napoli in the Champions League group stage and West Ham United in the Premier League.

They also defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 on Saturday for a fourth straight win in the English top flight.

Chelsea, who host Leeds United on Tuesday, are one point below Manchester United in fourth place in the Premier League and have reached the round of 16 of the Champions League.

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«I don’t talk about what happened before me. Our two defeats came against a team that many people consider to be the best team in Europe (Arsenal) and we did not have the full availability of players in both games,» Rosenior told reporters on Monday.

Arsenal leads the Premier League and was top of the Champions League after the first phase of that competition.

«Players are showing me extreme mental toughness, extreme quality, to come back from two goals against West Ham, to come back against Napoli. I don’t doubt their mental toughness at all,» Rosenior added.

He said Chelsea, who had just a month between winning the Club World Cup in July and the start of the Premier League, had done well to rotate and rest players in a packed schedule.

«It’s difficult. We’ve made a lot of substitutions, which we have to do. Take into account the players’ long-term schedule, they had no preparation and they were great,» the manager said.

“You have to be very well prepared tactically to give the players the right plans and solutions.” pdf view.

Rosenior added that midfielder Andrey Santos, who was sent off after a late tackle at Wolves, is fit for Tuesday’s match. Defender Reece James, who has missed the last two games with a blow, is unwell but may return for the game.

The manager said Leeds, who beat visitors Chelsea 3-1 in December, will be difficult to overcome despite being six points above the relegation zone.

«It will be another very difficult match. I am not here to talk about the past or what happened before I was here. I am focusing on tomorrow’s match,» he added.

Published on February 9, 2026