Premier League: Rosenior vows to ‘hit the ground running’ as Chelsea boss

Liam Rosenior has delivered his first message to Chelsea’s players as the new Blues boss admitted he had to «hit the ground running».

Rosenior was hired from French club Strasbourg on Tuesday to replace Enzo Maresca, who parted ways with Chelsea last week after a reported conflict with the Blues’ hierarchy.

Rosenior deserved praise for steering Strasbourg, who are in the same ownership group as Chelsea, into the UEFA Conference League last season via a seventh-place finish in Ligue 1.

The 41-year-old, who signed a six-year contract with Chelsea, previously managed Hull before being sacked after missing the 2024 Championship play-offs.

His lack of managerial experience at the top level has been used by critics to question Chelsea’s decision to employ Rosenior.

And the England coach, speaking just ahead of the Blues’ west London derby at Fulham on Wednesday, is acutely aware that he must deliver results quickly to satisfy Chelsea’s demanding owners.

Report | Ten-man Chelsea suffers a 1-2 defeat at Fulham

«Super excited. I can’t wait. As a young man I always wanted to be a coach, I’ve talked about it a lot,» Rosenior told Sky Sports.

“It’s great that this opportunity has arisen at this stage of my career, but my main focus is not on being a Chelsea manager, it’s about being a winning Chelsea manager. That’s the message I gave to the players yesterday when I was lucky enough to meet them for the first time.

“We have to stay on track for the rest of the season.”

Although Rosenior has spoken to his new side for the first time, he planned to watch from the Craven Cottage Stand rather than take charge of the Premier League match.

Chelsea’s Under-21 coach Calum McFarlane, who oversaw a 1-1 draw at Manchester City as interim boss last weekend, continued to take charge against Fulham.

Rosenior’s first match will be against Charlton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

“I flew in from Strasbourg yesterday morning so it’s a difficult time frame for me to do the tactical work I want to get into to give the boys the best possible chance to win,” he said.

“The guys when I was in Strasbourg were very supportive. We are very aligned in terms of recruitment and playing style.”

«That’s why I got involved in the project to begin with. To be honest, I never thought it would end up with me standing here as Chelsea manager in January, but in life you never know what’s going to happen.»

Published on January 8, 2026