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The full transcript from Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior's post-match press conference after the Blues' frustrating 1-1 draw with Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday
Liam Rosenior has just finished his post-match press conference following Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Burnley at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues took the lead inside just four minutes in west London through Joao Pedro's 14th goal of the season. However, after Wesley Fofana was sent off for his second yellow card, Burnley managed to equalise deep into stoppage time through Zian Flemming's header.
Rosenior has now reflected on what he saw at Stamford Bridge. Here is every word the Chelsea head coach had to say in his press conference.
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What's the mood like in the dressing room? How's Wesley Fofana feeling?
No, that wasn't on Wesley. That was on our performance. From the first goal, we lacked incision when we had control. I want incision. I want us to create wave after wave of attack. We were too safe in our possession. When you give a team, any team, a one-goal advantage, anything can happen. The red card happens, you're down to 10 men. We knew their biggest threat with [James] Ward-Prowse on the pitch was set plays. We went as big as we possibly could because that was the only way they could score with 10 men. We still don't see it out. I think the frustration is more the last two home games. From being in winning positions and being in control of the game to not win the two games, that's the biggest frustration. It's not a blame on an individual.
Does that have to be an inquest because that's a common theme, not just during your time?
No, I've said this before. I've been asked this before. I will never, ever speak about what's happened before me. What has happened with me is we have set fire to four points from two home games. Anyone watching the game, it's not good enough for a club of this level. It's not good enough for me to come and say we were the better team. We need to be the better team in every game. We need to win games of football. I know what the answer is and we will address it in the week. There's an inquest after every game whether we win or lose. I'm learning about the players. I'm learning about the people you can lean on when things aren't going your way and you need to see a game out. That's something we need to address very quickly.
You said to TV that certain people were assigned to jobs on the pitch and they weren't doing them. Was that about the goal or just the general play?
No, I felt the general play. I felt the second-half performance was actually miles better than the first-half performance, even though we were 1-0 up at half-time. Up until the red card, I felt it was wave after wave of attack. We didn't make the right decision for the moments that we created and we didn't finish off the game when we should have. When you don't do that, you leave yourself open. But there's too many instances, even in my time here. Wolves away, Crystal Palace away, Leeds at home, today, where we've conceded goals from moments of lack of concentration, lack of accountability. If we want to maximise the potential, which I know is there, we have to address that very quickly.
You've said a number of times this is a young squad, a young group of players. But following all the dropped points, all the red cards, do you feel that there needs to be a little bit more cooler heads, an addition of leadership?
I think youth is one thing, accountability is another. I'm accountable. I'm the head coach, I'm the manager of the team. I'm accountable for every result and every performance we have. We need to have players who you can rely on in the moment to do their job. Set plays are massive in the Premier League, they're so important. Our record this season, defending set plays, is not to the level which is required for us to achieve what we want to achieve and that's something I need to address.
Is it a mindset thing?
No, I don't want to talk about it [what happened before he was appointed]. It's not fair for me to talk about what you saw today. Yeah, I think there are certain values that you need to have in your team. The best teams, the teams that win titles, which is where we want to get to, they win games 1-0 when they probably haven't had the best performance. That should have been at least a 1-0 today. Even with 10 men for 25 minutes, that should have been a 1-0 at the least. I know what we need to get there. It's not down to youth, it's down to assessing the players and assessing the ones you can rely on in the difficult moments.
You spoke a couple of times there about working out the players you can lean on or rely on. Have you got enough of those?
Yes. Yeah, for sure.
In terms of the sending off, you've said before you've never fined a player. Do you think we need to change your approach?
No, no. Our discipline since I've come in, which is what I only speak on, has been very good. That was an unfortunate red card for Wes, he stepped in on a challenge. I felt there was something that could have been dealt with better before that happened by the referee and went unnoticed. But you're going to get red cards, it's too many. It's too many for sure. But in my time with the group, I think our discipline record has been very good up to now.
And on the mentality aspect, when the corner was conceded, Andrey [Santos] got a tackle in to stop their attack and then celebrated that tackle. Do you like that sort of thing?
Yeah, I do. I like players who enjoy defending. But the reality is we didn't do the next part well enough. I felt the only way Burnley were going to score in that moment was from a Ward-Prowse set play. I've tried to go as big as possible. Reece [James] was stretching and I wanted to make sure I protected him. Pedro Neto was stretching, I needed to protect him. We had enough on the pitch to deal with that moment and we didn't. And this cost us two more points.
You've just said in your broadcast interview that you feel like you're learning very quickly about the team. What did you learn today?
I've learned in our record in the Premier League is we played six, we've won four, we've drawn two. I've learned I've got a good team. But I learned for us to maximise the potential of this group, which is very high. We need players who in key moments can see things through and make sure they make the right professional decisions.
Was Reece James injured? How is Estevao Willian?
Reece, it was just honestly, he's so important to us as the captain, as the world-class player that he is. Any sign of fatigue with him, I want to get him off the pitch. I need him for Arsenal. He should be absolutely fine. And with Estevao, we're doing our assessments and scans on him now.
What happened for Burnley's goal?
An assignment was missed. An assignment, a marking assignment wasn't done. Flemming, we know, is their best header of the ball. And there was a player who I won't, I'm not here to throw players under the bus, I will always protect my players, I will deal with it in the week. There was a player we assigned that duty who marked the wrong player.
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