Chelsea’s senior leadership team holding talks concerning Liam Rosenior’s future

By Jamie Gardner and Edward Elliot, Press Association

Chelsea’s senior leadership team are holding discussions concerning Liam Rosenior’s future after a fifth straight Premier League loss on Tuesday night, the Press Association understands.

The Blues’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were further dented in a 3-0 loss at Brighton, with head coach Rosenior saying his side’s performance was “indefensible”.

Now, it is understood club bosses are discussing what has gone wrong at Chelsea in recent weeks, and how it can be put right.

The Blues take on Leeds in an FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Rosenior said on Tuesday he must identify which players he can trust after his side’s woeful result at the Amex Stadium.

It was Chelsea’s fifth straight league loss without scoring for the first time since 1912.

“I understand their frustration,” Rosenior said of the fans.

“The buck stops with me. I have thick skin and I understand why the fans are frustrated.

“I’m frustrated with the performances we’re putting in. I’ve just got to keep working hard with the staff, with the players.

“But what I do need to do is really look at how we go about games, the personnel of the team, who I can trust and rely on in difficult moments, because not enough players showed that.”

Rosenior branded the south-coast performance “indefensible” after Brighton leapfrogged Chelsea into sixth spot thanks to goals from Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck.

Without injured attacking trio Cole Palmer, Estevao and Joao Pedro, the toothless Blues failed to register an attempt on target and remain seven points adrift of fifth-placed Liverpool, having played a game more.

Rosenior, who replaced Enzo Maresca in January, warned his squad they do not belong at Stamford Bridge if they cannot handle pressure and criticism.

“I’m not throwing anyone under the bus,” he said. “That was an unacceptable performance, and I’m at the head of that.

“We’re playing for Chelsea, I’m managing Chelsea, the criticism and pressure comes with the football club.

“If you can’t handle that then you shouldn’t be here. It’s as simple as that. That’s something that needs to be addressed this week but it also needs to be addressed in the long term.

“We need to make the correct decisions for the team for a massive game on Sunday and we’ll do the very best we can to turn it around.”

Rosenior outlined a lack of spirit and belief among Chelsea’s ranks but played down suggestions of a “disconnect” between him and his players.

“It’s not about playing for me; it’s about playing for the club, it’s about playing for the shirt, it’s about playing to win games of football,” he said.

“You can read anything into it that you want and whether they’re playing for me or not. The performance in itself was damning. It stood against everything I believe in.”