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The full transcript from Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior's pre-match press conference ahead of the Blues' Champions League tie away at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday
Liam Rosenior has just completed his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening.
Rosenior is preparing his side for an extremely difficult challenge against the reigning European champions away from home, with Parc des Princes the venue on Wednesday. While Rosenior has experience of going head-to-head with PSG as Strasbourg head coach, none of those matches were anywhere near the magnitude of this one.
Bobby Vincent was live at Rosenior's presser in the French capital. Here is every word the Chelsea head coach had to say:
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Where did you watch the Club World Cup final because it's one of the most significant results in Chelsea's recent history? Do you remember it?
I do, it was in my front room back in Derby. It was a late one and it was a great game. I knew it was going to be a great game. Two fantastic teams, it was an outstanding performance from the guys on the day. But in terms of the relevance for now, I don't think it has much relevance. The context is completely different. It's something that we need to focus on the now and not focus on the past.
Do you not think it may be as relevant to the players at least because it was a major achievement for the club?
Of course.
Were you there as well at the Club World Cup for a bit? Did you visit?
I visited and watched the game against Benfica. There was a storm and we got delayed for two hours with five minutes to go. Being part of the group gives you an insight and I managed to watch that and a few training sessions which was great at the time. To see the guys then go on and win the trophy was magnificent. It's an amazing achievement for the club. We want to create many, many more.
What were your reflections on your time in France?
I had an incredible time, an incredible experience in this country. A magnificent league with magnificent coaches and great players. It was a fantastic experience in my career and one I'll never forget. To be back here so soon, I didn't expect from my last game with Strasbourg. I'm very, very proud of being now the Chelsea head coach but I want to create more good memories. I'm really going to enjoy this moment but the only way you really enjoy the moment is to win the game. That's what I'm focused on right now.
Do you think the criticism about PSG's game is justified over the last few weeks? And in your opinion, what did they do less well than last season?
I think PSG was so good last year. Obviously I was here in this country witnessing them go through their journey to win the Champions League and I was admiring it. When you have success, people want to knock you down and that's normal, that's a part of life. I'm sensing that here at Chelsea as well since I've become the manager here. When you are a top-level club, when things aren't going so well, they will speak about it more. I won't speak about the difference between now and then. What I will say in terms of the quality of the team, in terms of the quality of the opposition manager, they're world-class and it would be crazy to not expect anything else. I expect a very difficult challenge tactically, physically, technically, because they have some world-class players. They have a world-class manager, we have world-class players. I think it's going to be a great game for the neutral. We have to remember it's a two-legged game and we have to make sure we have discipline and focus in terms of that aspect. In terms of a draw, I think it makes for an exciting game for the neutral.
How difficult is the goalkeeping decision for this game and are you prepared to give us any clues?
No, of course not. With this squad, every position is a difficult position. That's how it has to be for us to be successful. We have a fantastic squad, top players. Not even just the starting XI, making a decision who's on the bench is difficult. That's the job that I'm here to do. We'll make that decision in terms of the goalkeeping position, in terms of the No.9 or No.10 or No.7 position. I've said before, for me, the goalkeeper position is no different to an outfield position. I will pick what I think is the right choice for each game. You'll see what decision I make tomorrow on the team sheet.
Two months ago, you said that when you arrived in Strasbourg, French media described you as a joke. I was wondering, do you have this feeling that maybe French journalists have a lack of respect towards your work?
No, the French media were incredible to me. Incredible to me in my time. I enjoyed my time in France, massively enjoyed my time in Strasbourg, which I will always hold a place for that football club in my heart. I will look back in my life and say it was one of the best experiences in my life. I have a huge respect for French football, for Ligue 1. It's a fantastic league. I thank everybody involved for giving me the experiences that I've had.
For both clubs there have been some inconsistency since the Club World Cup final. Is this something you've spoken to the players about?
No, if you speak about it too much, it becomes something that you don't want it to be. In my time, like I speak in my time, I've tried to manage the minutes, the training load that we do, the intensity that we train in. A lot of staff have had an input into that and we've worked really cooperatively in terms of that. The idea is to try in these moments, in the crunch games, to be as strong as possible. I think if you look at our squad now, Levi's back in modified training. We're still taking time. Jamie Gittens is back. We're working really, really well in terms of our injury load and that has to continue.
Do you feel you've learned something since joining Chelsea to take into these two games?
I don't look at it over the games. I look at it as the bigger picture, the next game. I've always said that. Since coming in, it's been mentioned how confident I am as a person. I'm even more confident now within my group because I've got to know players like Malo [Gusto, next to him]. I've got to know the players in a better way. I think they've got to know me and my demands and the way that we play as well. I think it's a nice fit. I think, not just speaking about these games, I think I'm speaking about what we want to achieve in the long term. I'm more confident after coming in after two and a half months than I was when I first came in, and that's down to the players and what they've given me in that time.
How ready is the group? How have you spoken about that this week? Because if you can get everything right tomorrow night and in the second leg, then you can go on as a group and do something very special, can't you?
Yeah, I think first of all, anything can happen in the game. We know how football is. As you said, the dream for performance has to be a 90-minute. As you said, it's two legs as well. Tomorrow will be the first one, so we have to focus on this one and see where it goes for the next.
Luis Enrique and Joao Pedro had a scuffle after the Club World Cup final. Do you consider that water under the bridge? Do you need to talk to your players about that?
No, for sure. If you are at the top level, at the elite level, you need passion. You need to have a want to win. Luis Enrique is somebody, I've said it before while I was here in France, not just as a coach, but as a player. What a player. What a player he was. He could play any position on the pitch and he's taken that intelligence into his unbelievable managerial career. He's someone who really knows how much I respect him. If you are used to winning, you have to have an edge. It can't always be nice. That's finished. That's gone. What we do know is we have to have, within the limits, a passion about us, an intensity to win this game. Because PSG will. That's what it takes to win trophies.
Just on Luis Enrique, you've said some nice things about him already. Are there things about the way that his teams play that you've taken as an influence on your coach?
I don't have too big an ego to say that. I look at other coaches that I respect and appreciate and take things from them and put it into my own way of thinking when I'm playing. I'll be very honest, I said this last year. I showed the Strasbourg players clips of PSG last year, their intensity, the way that they ran and pressed the ball, because they were magnificent in that time. For me, football, I want to win. Trust me, I want to win tomorrow. But you can show respect in many ways as a coach. I think the biggest mark of respect as a coach is when other coaches look at your game and say, I like what you do. It's been nice because it's started to happen to me. I think that's what football is about.
I appreciate your focus is on football, but I wonder what your reaction was as Chelsea lifted the Club World Cup with Donald Trump in amongst them in light of the open letter that you wrote. And ahead of this game, the PSG president is actually trying to arrive later than you because he's delayed due to the political climate in Qatar. So how did you react seeing Trump mixing with the Chelsea players? And do you stand by the comments still from your open letter?
Yeah, politics. Nice [laughs]. No, I didn't think anything. I am focused on football. I was delighted for Malo and the guys [after the Club World Cup final]. I was delighted for Enzo [Maresca] as a coach. I was delighted for the team. It wasn't about who was on the stage that I was thinking about. What I would say in terms of politics, in terms of what I think, it's always with respect for a different idea. It's really sad the place we're in at the moment in the world. Regardless of what you think, when there are people dying, that's not a good place to be. And I hope we can get to a place in our society one day where these things don't happen anymore. I'm not going to speak about other people. I have huge respect for everyone as long as they have respect for me and for people in general. My job is to be head coach of this amazing football club and focus on the football.
Both PSG and Chelsea have really young squads? You've been asked a lot about Chelsea but of course PSG are defending champions...
Exactly. They won it last year. I love working, it doesn't matter the age, I love working with good players. If you work with younger players, their ceiling is higher. Their potential to grow is higher. And that's, I think, one of the reasons why I'm here. I love working with this group, regardless of age. But I am very excited because of the age of Malo, he told me how old he is in the car on the way here. The potential that this guy sat next to me has is unbelievable. 22? 22, talking about going to a World Cup with France, one of the biggest nations. I have 20, 22 players like that to work with every day. Not only their ability, or their quality, or their physicality, their temperament. They're humble. They want to improve. They want to learn. And it's a joy working with them every day. I'm very excited where we can go on our journey.
Matches like tomorrow, for example, can help to garner their experience as well and make them more experienced...
For sure, that's how you get experience is to give experience. I can't wait for the game tomorrow. It's going to be two outstanding young teams who play in their own identity and in their own style.
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