Liam Rosenior is wasting no time in his bid to turn Chelsea from Premier League also-rans into genuine title contenders, making it clear to his players that he wants the rebuild to start immediately.
The Englishman, who succeeded Italian Enzo Maresca, arrived at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday from Racing Strasbourg and will take charge of his first match Saturday, when Chelsea visit Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup.
Rosenior watched from the stands Wednesday as Chelsea slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Fulham, a result that left them eighth in the table with just one win from their past nine league games.
“For this opportunity to come up at this stage of my career is great, but my biggest focus is not about being Chelsea manager, it’s about being a winning Chelsea manager,” Rosenior told Sky Sports ahead of Wednesday’s defeat.
“That is the message I gave the players yesterday when I was fortunate enough to meet them for the first time. We need to hit the ground running for the rest of the season.”
Chelsea face a hectic run of fixtures in January and early February, playing 10 matches in 31 days.
Asked whether it would be difficult to impose his style with games coming thick and fast, Rosenior said: “No. I think Enzo, the previous manager, has done a really, really good job with the team tactically. My game is not dissimilar.
“There are different characteristics in the way I play that I want to put my stamp on. People talk about tactics, systems and philosophies, but I want to see good energy in a team. I want to see a team that’s hard to beat.
“I want to see a team that runs for each other and fights, and those are the things I can get a lot of work done on with the lads.”
