- 15 hours ago
Rosenior on Chelsea glamour FA Cup tie at Wrexham
06/03/2026
Cobham Training centre, Surrey, UK
06/03/2026
Cobham Training centre, Surrey, UK
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:01Hello.
00:02Good afternoon.
00:20Okay, good afternoon and thank you for joining us.
00:24We'll take the usual format and begin with a broadcast section.
00:29Gail Davison, Sky Sports News.
00:31Off you go, Gail.
00:32Good afternoon.
00:33Should we do a bit of team news first of all?
00:36I guess the big one is probably Al Estabau is.
00:40Should we start with him?
00:41Yeah, Estabau's back on the pitch, but he's not ready for this one.
00:45We need to be really, really careful,
00:47given Estabau was a hamstring injury.
00:49So he just needs to clear a few more markers before we put him back in.
00:53But obviously it will be a big boost to have him back in the group.
00:57And anyone else?
00:59That we don't know about, kind of not available?
01:03No.
01:05Jamie Gittins is getting really close, which is great.
01:08He had a really positive scan.
01:10So hopefully within the next seven days he'll be back in the group.
01:13In terms of from the Aston Villa game,
01:15there's no injuries from that, which is fantastic.
01:17And Labio, is he ready to go from the off?
01:20Yeah.
01:21Because it feels like it's a really good opportunity for him, doesn't it?
01:24It is.
01:25I'm delighted for him.
01:27Romeo will definitely play a part,
01:28and he'll play a huge part for the rest of the season.
01:30We know of his attributes.
01:32He's been itching to play.
01:33But we've tried to build him in the best possible way.
01:36But yeah, his chances to come,
01:38he's definitely going to play in these next few games.
01:40I know you have spoken a lot about goalkeepers over the last week or so.
01:46And I know you spoke about your selection this week.
01:50What do you do going forwards in the next few games?
01:55Because you would often switch into a cupkeeper, if you like.
01:59So how are you going to balance this over the next two or three weeks?
02:03For me, like genuinely, I look at the goalkeeper position maybe differently on each game.
02:11I want there to be competition in every area of the pitch.
02:15I know traditionally, if there's a change of goalkeeper, it's like he's now the number one.
02:19It's not the case.
02:19It's not the case at all.
02:21So we will pick, and I will try and pick the best team possible for each game.
02:26And Phil's been waiting really, not waiting, he's been working for his opportunity.
02:30I thought he took his opportunity really, really well.
02:33A massive influence in the game in terms of our build structure and how we created chances
02:38and goals came from Phil.
02:39And he put in a really good performance.
02:41But Rob's put in great performances as well.
02:43But I want there to be competition in every area of the pitch.
02:45I understand that, and you've sort of seen it before, maybe the Arsenal with Ramsdale
02:51and not having a number one.
02:54But clearly, if you are a goalkeeper, it is slightly different in terms of finding your
03:01rhythm and your confidence, and also that kind of connection with those in front of you.
03:05Yeah.
03:06So don't you need some sort of continuity?
03:08Yeah, you need continuity, but you need to win games of football.
03:12And there's different ways.
03:14Modern coaching or old school or anything.
03:17I will pick the team that I think is best to win each game.
03:19I don't think I've kept the same 11 in any game that we've played.
03:23Now, people can say you need continuity.
03:25And if we lose, then we don't have enough continuity.
03:27If we win, then it's the right decision.
03:29I made a decision about the Aston Villa game that I think was proven correct.
03:34Hopefully, I'll make more correct decisions moving forward.
03:36Just to find on this, if I'm Robert Sanchez, and I've been playing most of those Premier
03:41League games, and I know that it has had a bit of an injury as well.
03:44How does he react this week to not playing?
03:48What was a massive game for you on Tuesday night?
03:51And then maybe he does find himself in the FA Cup team.
03:54How does he react?
03:56How do you have that conversation with him?
03:57I already have done.
03:59I've been really honest with Rob.
04:00He was really disappointed not to play the game, which I expect for every player, whether
04:04they're a goalkeeper or an outfield player, but the way Rob responded in training, the
04:08way he responded in terms of supporting Philippe, in terms of the warm-up, in terms of in the
04:12dressing room, he was magnificent.
04:13There was no difference in him.
04:15And I've spoken about Garnaccio and the way he's responded to not being in the team.
04:19If we're going to be successful in the short and long term, you need a group, you need
04:23a squad with the right mentality.
04:24And Rob, so far, has been absolutely magnificent in that.
04:28Talking of mentality, you might need a bit of that tomorrow.
04:31Mike and you, it's quite a story.
04:34I wonder, have you had your feet up over the years watching?
04:37I've seen a few.
04:38Have you?
04:38Yeah, I've seen a few.
04:41When you see a club grow, develop, improve and come up through the leagues, it's a great
04:45story.
04:46They've done a great job.
04:47I think Phil's done an incredible job to make the way he's managed the team, the position
04:51they're in in the league as well now.
04:52We know it's going to be a really, really difficult game.
04:55We know it's a club that's on the rise and there's a good energy and a good vibe around
04:59and it's hard to play against that.
05:01So we take the game really seriously.
05:02For us, it's an opportunity to win a trophy.
05:06And for you, do you ever fancy being a kind of lead actor in a...
05:09No.
05:10Do you not fancy it?
05:11No.
05:12No, I'm all right in this job.
05:14I'm all right in this job.
05:15I'll leave the acting to the professionals.
05:18No, it's brilliant.
05:19I think to be open with the public about how a football club works and people are interested
05:25in it.
05:25It's been a great story for them and hopefully after the game, it continues for them.
05:29Just finally for me then, it is going to have a huge worldwide audience because of
05:35who it's involved, which is great, but you're kind of going to be the vallies, aren't you?
05:39Yeah.
05:40Tomorrow.
05:40I mean, everybody's willing this kind of fairy tale to take a kind of another clock twist,
05:46aren't they?
05:46That's what football's about.
05:47That's what the FA Cup is about and we need to be respectful of that.
05:50We understand we're the favourites to win the game, rightfully so, and we need to go
05:54and play like that tomorrow evening.
05:56Thanks, Gahill.
05:57Nizar?
05:58I guess the good thing about being sort of the baddies is that, you know, you're one
06:01of the favourites to win the competition as well and you already said you're very ambitious
06:05to win silverware.
06:06So how important is it for you personally to get silverware as soon as possible?
06:10Yeah, that's why I'm here.
06:10That's what you dream of as a player or coach or a manager.
06:14You want to win things.
06:15The FA Cup is an amazing competition for the tradition and history.
06:19But what we have to do tomorrow is not think about the trophy or the final is concentrate
06:24on Wrexham.
06:25I think so far in my time, if I go back to the Charlton game or the whole game, what
06:29pleased me so much in those games was the application of the players.
06:33I thought we were excellent and we're going to have to be at the same level at least to
06:36win the game tomorrow.
06:37I know the feeling at Strasbourg was that you could win a trophy maybe in the future,
06:41but you must have thought when you're arriving to Chelsea in January, it'd be great to add
06:45to my trophy cabinet.
06:46You know, as a player, you didn't really play for a club like Chelsea.
06:49I wasn't good enough.
06:51How much do you want to be good enough to be as a manager at that kind of individual
06:55win-win trophy?
06:56It's what you work for.
06:57But if you focus on the trophy at the end of the season, you're probably not going to
07:01win anything.
07:01It's the next game.
07:02It really is.
07:03We have to focus on the next game.
07:05The players are just outside, just finishing training now.
07:10They are in a really, really good frame of mind.
07:12Obviously, the Aston Villa result and performance has given us confidence.
07:15But at the same time, we need to focus on this game and make sure we come through at the
07:19other side.
07:20When you were saying in your last press conference, you're not making any competition secondary,
07:24but a lot of teams would maybe make the FA Cup secondary in your scenario.
07:29So how are you going to rotate through the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup?
07:33I've said from day one, I'm going to use the squad.
07:35I've just said I don't think I've had the same start in XI in any game that we've played
07:40because I know I've got an excellent squad.
07:42My idea and the club's idea is to build a squad to win trophies, and you need to rotate.
07:46It's impossible.
07:47I don't know what the stat is, but from us playing in the Club World Cup, we've played
07:50over 100 games in a short space of time.
07:54We need to make sure we're strong enough to compete in every game, but we're expected
07:57to win every game that we play.
07:59Thanks, Nizar.
08:00Simon?
08:12They're a very good team.
08:13That's why they are where they are.
08:16I think they're very well organised in every aspect of the game.
08:19I think the beautiful thing about football is you can play any way that you want to play
08:23if you believe in it.
08:24They believe in what they do.
08:26Everybody has a different idea.
08:27That's why you have different managers with different styles.
08:30I'm not there to judge.
08:32I don't judge any other team.
08:33I respect every team in the way that they go about things, and you have to find a way
08:37to adapt and overcome that.
08:38Speaking back to Chelsea, speaking of players, you might have an opportunity to find Liam
08:43for that.
08:44João Pedro is absolutely flying.
08:47How difficult is it for Liam at the moment with the contrast?
08:50He's only scored a couple of goals since the move.
08:53Is the hand-shing injury perhaps something that's still on his mind?
08:56Liam's last game, he got three assists.
08:59Liam's in a good place.
09:00You need a group.
09:01You need a group.
09:02João is on fire, but that's nothing on Liam.
09:04That's João's performances.
09:05That's the level that we need to have, and I expect Liam, when he does get his opportunity
09:09to take it, to show his qualities.
09:11So you're not comparing players.
09:14You're respecting them for their each individual strength.
09:17Liam will have his opportunities to play in big games, and it's up to him to take it,
09:21and I'm confident that he will.
09:22Is he 100%?
09:24Yeah.
09:24Yeah.
09:25So the injuries...
09:26He's absolutely fine.
09:27Thanks, Simon.
09:28And we'll finish with Martin.
09:30Hi, Liam.
09:30Again, same thing, Jean-Petro, really.
09:33Before you came, he was sort of known as a scorer of great goals, occasionally,
09:37picking in a set piece or something like that, but not a nine.
09:42And probably that he wanted to play as a ten.
09:44That was the sort of thing that we were getting.
09:46What have you done?
09:47I mean, he's now a goal-poaching centre-forward.
09:50Have you worked deliberately on that to get him into that mindset to get the sort of goals
09:56that he got the other night?
09:56I've had some great conversations with Zhao from coming in.
10:01Like all of the players here, he's someone with huge, huge potential,
10:04and he's showing that in his recent performances.
10:07It's not really about what I've done.
10:08It's about what he's done.
10:09He's been magnificent in his performances.
10:12And not just the goals, his intensity, his understanding of press.
10:16Tactically, what he gives us is magnificent.
10:19And I think if you look at the teams that I manage and I coach,
10:23we try to create as best chance as possible for our nine,
10:26which is normally in the middle of the goal, six yards out.
10:28And it's been really pleasing to see the goals that we scored against Aston Villa.
10:32I know they're tap-ins, but he's in the right place at the right time.
10:34The sort of goals that he wasn't scoring before, to be fair?
10:38I don't look at what hasn't happened before.
10:40I look at what I'm seeing now.
10:42He's capable of doing it.
10:43And, yeah, it's really exciting for us to have a player of his level
10:47performing at the level that he is at the moment.
10:50Thank you, Martin, and thank you, everybody.
10:51Camera's off, please.
Comments