New Chelsea boss Rosenior welcomes weight of pressure

Jan 9 : Liam Rosenior ‌said he was ready to embrace the pressure of managing Chelsea and unlock what he called the club's "limitless" potential as he prepares for his first game in charge of the West London side on Saturday.

Rosenior, 41, was confirmed as Chelsea's new head coach on Tuesday on a contract running until 2032, following the departure of Italian Enzo Maresca on New Year's Day. He is Chelsea's fourth permanent boss appointed since Todd Boehly's 2022 takeover.

"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 relatively inexperienced at the top level, Rosenior's reputation grew after guiding Strasbourg to European qualification with a seventh-placed finish in Ligue 1.

His appointment was aided by the fact that Strasbourg and Chelsea share the same multi-club ownership structure, with Boehly's consortium, BlueCo, taking over the French side 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."

NOT FAR AWAY

Rosenior's first challenge will be to arrest Chelsea's slump after a run of ​one win 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,"