Rosenior salutes ‘outstanding’ start to Chelsea reign

Liam Rosenior hailed “outstanding” Chelsea’s “strong start” to his reign as the new Blues boss savoured a 5-1 rout of Charlton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

Taking charge of Chelsea for the first time following his arrival from Strasbourg, Rosenior watched as goals from Jorrel Hato, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez gave him the perfect introduction to his new club.

The 41-year-old has replaced Enzo Maresca, who parted ways with the club last week after a turbulent campaign marred by reports of rifts with the club’s hierarchy.

Some critics have questioned whether Rosenior will be a puppet for Chelsea’s powerbrokers because Strasbourg are in the same ownership group as the Premier League club.

Rosenior, sacked by second tier Hull in 2024, has much to prove but swatting aside Charlton, who are 19th in the Championship, at The Valley at least ensured there would be no giant-killing embarrassment in his first game.

“A good start, professional. I thought our first goal came at an important time in the game, it was a brilliant goal for Jorrel. The quality of my players was outstanding. Strong start, something to build on,” he said.

“Goals change games and that comes down to quality of players. To get the goal when we did was really good.

“I’ve got a fantastic squad, I was delighted with the starting players. I thought Marc Guiu was magnificent, he deserved his goal.

“There are a lot of positives. Strong start but nothing to get too carried away about yet.”

Maresca, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Graham Potter have all failed to last for a prolonged spell in charge since Todd Boehly’s consortium bought the Blues.

Rosenior is the first manager to win his debut game in charge of Chelsea since Antonio Conte in 2016 after the nine previous permanent and caretaker bosses failed to start with a victory.

Much sterner tests lie ahead for Rosenior, starting with a visit from Premier League leaders Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

“The lads have been really receptive to us and I thank them for that. If we keep working in this way I’m excited for the future,” Rosenior said.

“Just a small game for us next on Wednesday!”