Rosenior previews Chelsea's trip to relegation favourites Wolves (Full Presser)

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Liam Rosenior previews Chelsea's trip to relegation favourites Wolves  05/02/2026  Cobham training centre, London, UK

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon and thank you for joining us, we shall take the usual format today beginning

00:28with the broadcast section, James Green from Sky Sports News, where you go James?

00:32James, how are you, good to see you?

00:34Good to see you.

00:35Let's start with the team news, I know you said Rich James had to let out small knocks,

00:39the Arsenal game, are they available for Saturday?

00:41Don't know yet, I had training today which was a recovery day for the lads who played

00:47in a really tough physical game on Tuesday, we'll check them tomorrow and then we'll make a decision then.

00:52Jamie Kittens?

00:53Jamie is looking a little bit more long term, it's a real shame for him, he's got a tear in his hamstring,

01:00which is a real shame for him, obviously I've not worked with him for too long, obviously I've known about his career

01:06and what an outstanding player he is, so that's going to be a big miss for us.

01:10How long do you?

01:11I don't, I can't ever say, it's too early to say.

01:13Just a couple of updates on Cole Palmer, Estabal, are they fit to play maybe a full 90 minutes this weekend?

01:20Yes.

01:21How long do you think it will be until Cole can play say back to back games or back to back 90 minutes?

01:26I think that's another really hypothetical question, what we're doing with not just Cole, all of the players,

01:31we have the very best medical team, we have the very best sports science team, we do many tests.

01:38We want to make sure that these players can play at the level that they need to play at to help us win.

01:45So in terms of Cole, it's not, there isn't a timeframe, he's going to be perfect in a month or two months or three months,

01:52just game to game and that's the way that we've been working with him and I think that is the way we will have to

01:57continue working with him and a few of our players.

01:59And he understands that?

02:00He's been, he's brought in, he's been magnificent, he's been magnificent.

02:04He wants to be playing every minute of every game.

02:07We know the player that he is, the character that he is, but he's also maturing as a human being

02:12and he understands the bigger picture, which is his career, bearing in mind, I'm very conscious of this,

02:18the lads played in a club World Cup and then they went through the summer with no break.

02:23Then they've got to play so many games, our schedule has been crazy.

02:26Then they have World Cups to go to and international games to play.

02:30I want to make sure that the wellbeing is correct for these players, for their careers as well.

02:35Let's go back to Tuesday a little bit if I may.

02:39There's been so much noise about the way you set your team up, should you have gone more attacking, should you not?

02:45Were you more justified because of what happened at the Etihad Stadium watching what Newcastle did against Manchester City?

02:53Are you surprised, first of all, that there's still been this continued noise and talk about it?

02:57And have you changed maybe your thinking on it of whether, maybe perhaps you could have had a go a little bit earlier?

03:03No, the noise doesn't surprise me at all. That comes with the territory of being the head coach and manager of Chelsea Football Club.

03:09If I was surprised by that, then I wouldn't have been prepared for this role.

03:15What other teams do, the way other teams play, it's got nothing to do with me.

03:20What people say outside of the club, what they think about the way my teams play, makes no difference to my decision making,

03:28or what I think is the right thing for the team. In hindsight, we didn't go through.

03:34So you can always change and improve certain things that you do.

03:37But what I do feel at the same time, that was a very, very solid performance against a team who were very, very good at home,

03:44where we turned the tide in the second half and the game could have easily gone our way.

03:49So, yeah, disappointed not to go through, but now we move on and focus on Wolves.

03:54There was a video circulating. I'm sure you've probably seen it. It was you before the game.

03:59You were really upset and angry with, I assume it was the Arsenal players, because we didn't see it on the camera,

04:04going into your half of the pitch. What?

04:06It wasn't the players. I'm respectful.

04:10When you warm up, you have your half, the other team have their half.

04:14I've never asked my team or my coaches to encroach on the opposition's territory.

04:19In that moment, I didn't think it was right where they were operating in terms of if they were affecting my lad's warm up

04:27and my staff's warm up. So I asked them, maybe not politely, to make sure they stay in their half.

04:32I'm not, I'm not here to have mind games or it's just what I think is right and respectful.

04:37And hopefully we respect that and other teams do too.

04:41What was it specifically, if you don't mind me asking, that made you so angry?

04:44It's just, no.

04:46I think there's certain etiquettes in football.

04:51I always try and be as respectful as possible. I always want to win.

04:54I've never asked my coaches and I don't have an issue with anyone at Arsenal Football Club.

05:00A fantastic manager, Mikel, is someone I've got so much respect for.

05:04It was just in that moment, I didn't think that respect was shown to my team.

05:09Thanks, James. John?

05:11Just going back to Cole Farmer, how frustrating is it for you?

05:17He's available to you, but it seems you can't use him to his full potential.

05:22No, you want all of your players to be 100% of the time.

05:26But at the same time, that's just not going to happen.

05:29Not just in terms of Cole, but with every player, especially with the schedule that we have.

05:34I wouldn't say frustration is the word.

05:36I'm trying to get the very best out of him and my team at the same time.

05:40And also, I'm taking into account, hopefully, the many games we have to play

05:45and the many competitions we're still in to make sure that we're still very, very strong come April or May.

05:50And that affects my decision making.

05:52So how do you get the best out of him, keeping you can only play him at certain games?

05:56No, it's not about not being able to only play him in certain games.

06:00Like I said before, it's day by day.

06:02It's making sure that he feels right, that he can contribute to the team in the way that he wants to.

06:07And I'll keep working on that.

06:09And very soon, I'm sure, he'll be in a place where he can play every minute of every game.

06:13And I'll be a very happy man.

06:15Which is his best position? Do you see his best position as the number 10?

06:19Is that what you're seeing?

06:20His best position is on the pitch.

06:22Another player who's come in for a bit of criticism.

06:25I haven't really gone up yet.

06:27Have you had a chat with him?

06:29Have you had him in just to say what you expect from him?

06:32I've spoken to all of the players.

06:35I don't know where the criticism comes from.

06:37I think, again, it comes with the territory of being a player or a coach for this great club.

06:42Ghana, like all the players.

06:44He had a difficult half against West Ham.

06:46I thought he showed some really bright moments coming on against Arsenal.

06:50And he's going to be massive for us.

06:52And we have a lot of games to come.

06:54And he'll have plenty of opportunities to show his quality.

06:57And how have the players reacted after shooting?

06:59Is it a blow?

07:01Yeah, massive blow.

07:02We believe we could go through.

07:04The lads were devastated and rightfully so after the game in the dressing room.

07:08But I've spoken to them.

07:10You get setbacks in life is how you respond.

07:12And the response in training today and in the meetings that we have had have been really positive.

07:17And we have to now focus on the future, which is Wolves on Saturday.

07:20Thanks, John. Jake?

07:22Hi.

07:23Having made various changes against West Ham and then in midweek, do you constantly feel like you're getting closer and closer to knowing in your mind your preferred, if not 11, 13, 14?

07:35I said I got asked this question.

07:38I can't remember.

07:39Not long ago.

07:40I don't have a best 11.

07:41I don't think best 11s are the way that you go.

07:45You have a best starting team for a game.

07:47You have a best finishing team for a game.

07:49Obviously, I'm learning about the group all of the time in every performance, not just in games, but in every training session.

07:55They're characters.

07:57They know the journey that I want to go on with this club and with them.

08:01And I'm making assessments all the time on who's suitable for us to keep moving in the right direction.

08:07With Wolves on Saturday, how, as a manager, do you prepare a group of players to face a side that are so far adrift, as it were, in the Premier League table?

08:19We prepare in exactly the same way we prepare for any game that we play.

08:23I've watched Rob's team recently.

08:26They actually put in a very good performance against Bournemouth.

08:28We were unfortunate not to get anything out of the game.

08:31I thought they played very, very well.

08:32They put in some very positive performances in their last few games.

08:36The biggest thing for me, as the manager now with this group, I want to see a consistency in our levels of performance, of engagement, of intensity in every game that we play.

08:47So, for me, that is something I've spoken to the group about.

08:50The next game is the most important game, and Wolves is another huge game for our season.

08:55As you've obviously not been here that long, how long do you feel it might take to get to that point?

09:01And how do you go about trying to get there?

09:04Sorry, I keep getting asked these hypothetical questions.

09:07In the Premier League, we've won three out of three.

09:10In eight games, we've won six out of eight.

09:12So, the players have shown many, many good things in that aspect.

09:15Okay, and just lastly, not long ago, people used to talk about there not being enough British managers in the Premier League.

09:22We've obviously got two facing up against each other on Saturday.

09:25And not only that, two that have sort of been coming mid-season as well.

09:29What do you think that says then? Are we, you know, slowly getting back to where perhaps it should be?

09:34Yeah, I don't want to speak on behalf of all British managers like I speak from my own personal experience.

09:41I'm proud to be from this country. I'm proud to represent this club being born in London.

09:48Yeah, I think there are some outstanding British coaches in the Premier League, in the Championship, in League One and League Two.

09:54Because the Premier League is such a worldwide league, you know, with the market, everyone wants to be in the Premier League.

10:01It's very difficult for British coaches other than being promoted to make that step.

10:07So, yeah, it's great. I think it's interesting.

10:10I think British coaches, Michael's doing a great job. Rob's an outstanding coach.

10:14No, we can hold our own and hopefully we show that in our respective roles.

10:18Thanks, Jake. Rob?

10:20With Mamadou Sarko, in fact, mid-season, you've experienced the multiplayer model now on the side of, I guess, the more dominant partner and the smaller coach.

10:32Did you get sense when you were in Stratberg of being the junior partner in a model essentially built for the benefit of a bit of college?

10:40No. No, I didn't. You'll see Mamadou's come back.

10:45Arenas Anselmino is not a bad player. He's a fantastic player.

10:50Datra Fofana's gone.

10:52This question is not about being a junior partner or a senior partner.

10:58They're two massive clubs. Stratberg is a massive football club with its own identity, with its own culture and its own goals and what the club wants to reach.

11:10They have a big game against Monaco tonight, which I'll be watching. Gary started very, very well.

11:15The idea of this project is that both clubs are very, very successful and I believe that will be the case.

11:21Trevor Chalibur looked like he didn't have a future here not all that long ago.

11:26At the start of last season, he was allowed to go and then was kind of pulled back as an emergency measure really at the time.

11:32And now he virtually never misses a game.

11:34Chelsea had missed out on a central defender this week. Do you see Trevor as a long-term partner for Levi Pollard?

11:42Trevor, the way he's playing. I said to the players, I will gauge everything, not based on what's happened before me but what I see now.

11:50I will only speak on what I'm seeing now. Trevor has been one of our brightest spots in terms of his performances, in terms of what he understands,

11:59what we want, not just on the pitch or tactically, in terms of the culture, in terms of what he gives the group.

12:05He loves this club. He understands what it takes to win and he's made a fantastic impression on me and my staff so far.

12:11Thanks, Rob. And we'll finish with Davido.

12:14Question about your general approach to the new club. Obviously, you came in this season, so the team was filling for another manager.

12:23I'm curious about the process of analysing the team, understanding their strength, what you need to work on and what you think the progress has been made in the same games?

12:33I think any manager would say before you walk into a club, you watch and analyse the games from before.

12:39But what's really important to me is that you don't use that information too much. You try and take on the information as you're in.

12:46You know, you don't make, not prejudices, but judgements on players without seeing them or meeting them in the first aspect.

12:56When I come in, I just be myself with my staff in my own way. And then we judge every training session.

13:05And a lot of what we've spoken to the players about is not football related. They're already fantastic players.

13:10They're already fantastic people, which is what I've learned, but a lot to do with reactions and body language and spirit.

13:16And I think they are the intangibles that make a big difference to the success of a football club.

13:22Thanks Davide. Thanks everyone. We'll bring it to an end there. Cameras off please.

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