Liam Rosenior has warned his Chelsea players that he will not pick those he cannot trust to stay out of trouble with referees. Rosenior is losing patience with his squad’s discipline problems and has indicated that selection will be based on who is improving their behaviour.
Chelsea’s discipline is back under the spotlight after Pedro Neto’s red card during the 2-1 defeat against Arsenal on Sunday. The winger’s dismissal was their ninth of an erratic campaign and left Rosenior deeply unimpressed.
The 41-year-old coach wants to tackle the issue by creating a “culture of accountability” in the dressing room. He is unhappy with senior players such as Neto and Enzo Fernández for receiving bookings for dissent at the Emirates Stadium, and is looking for ways to drum home the importance of cool heads as the defining point of the season approaches.
“If you look at our stats, when we have 11 men on the pitch our chance of winning goes through the roof,” Rosenior said. “That needs to be motivation in itself to make sure we stay disciplined in key moments.
“Sometimes a setback is giving the ball away. Sometimes a setback is a referee making a decision you disagree with. In that moment you have to react positively. Then you have to think of the next thing. That’s the things that we have to go after in order for our discipline to improve.
“You pick players who are showing that improvement. I can’t afford to go for a season every two or three games with a red card. It’s just not possible. I need to see improvement in that. I need to adjust my team selection based on who is showing those capabilities.”
Rosenior revealed that Neto, who was booked twice in the space of four minutes, apologised to his teammates after the defeat by Arsenal. Chelsea have dropped to sixth and are six points below Aston Villa before visiting Unai Emery’s side on Wednesday.
Better defending at set-pieces is another focus for Rosenior. Chelsea have conceded seven times from corners in the former Strasbourg manager’s first 13 games in charge. “Every manager has a different idea about the way you attack and defend set plays,” Rosenior said.
“I’ve taken more responsibility in the last week because I know it’s something that needs to improve. It’s not just down to coaching. It’s down to mentality. It’s down to focus and concentration. By the manager taking control of that, hopefully, from a mentality point of view, the value of that goes up in terms of the way that we work with it.”
Rosenior said there needs to be a review at the end of the season to address grappling and the crowding of goalkeepers at corners. “I think that is something that gives an unfair advantage to certain teams.”
