Liam Rosenior ready for Chelsea challenge

Liam Rosenior said he was ready for the Chelsea challenge, saying he is willing to take on the pressure.

Rosenior will manage his first game against the West London side on Saturday.

The 41-year-old Englishman was appointed as Chelsea's new head coach on Tuesday, signing a five-and-a-half-year deal, becoming the fourth full-time head coach appointed since American Todd Boehly took over the club in 2022.

He has replaced the Italian Enzo Maresca, who was sacked on New Year's Day.

"I think the (general) turnover of managers now is huge," Rosenior told reporters on Friday ahead of their FA Cup third-round tie at Championship side Charlton Athletic.

"The pressure is there from day one and if I wasn't willing to take on that pressure and privilege I wouldn't be here... If you are scared or fearful there is no point being a coach."

Although Rosenior has no top-level experience, his reputation has grown after he led Strasbourg to European qualification following a seventh-placed finish in Ligue 1.

Liam Rosenior became the frontrunner to replace Maresca, thanks in large part to the fact that Strasbourg and Chelsea are owned by the same multi-club ownership group, with the French club taken over by Boehly's consortium BlueCo in 2023.

"When I went in at Strasbourg I was a joke in the media and they said that my team would finish last," Rosenior said.

"I was a nobody from England and we finished three points off the Champions League places. The noise is just noise.

"I am not promising it, but I am working towards it and I believe strongly we can be very successful here."

Rosenior's first challenge will be to put Chelsea back on track as they have won only one in nine Premier League games, which has left them eighth with 31 points from 21 matches.

"It's a tough run, it's a tough league," Rosenior said.

"We aren't the only club that'll go through difficult periods, every club does. Sometimes a different voice helps, but we aren't far away and that's really important for the players to know...

"The potential for this club is limitless, and I won't limit limitlessness."