Every word Liam Rosenior said on returning Chelsea stars, Fernandez transfer, Jacquet interest

The full transcript from Liam Rosenior's pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Pafos on Wednesday evening

Liam Rosenior has just finished his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Pafos tomorrow evening.

The Blues take on the Cypriot side in their penultimate Champions League league phase fixture on Wednesday evening. Here is every word Rosenior had to say in his pre-match presser...

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How is everyone?

Yeah, so Enzo Fernandez was ill yesterday and missed training. There were signs of it during the game and that goes to show the type of performance that he put in against Brentford. Fortunately, Estevao [Willian] has been back in, Jamie Gittens is back in. Who else was it? There's so many. So yeah, Malo Gusto and Gittens. They're all involved. Gittens is back, Malo Gusto is back involved, which is great, another outstanding player. There's a few coughs, they're working really, really hard, like I said. It's not just at this club, many clubs at the moment at this time of year you're going to get that and it's about making sure the players are right for the game tomorrow.

Can I just get you in your own words just to tell us what it means for you to be managing in the Champions League?

Yeah, I think your dream is whether you're a player or a coach or a manager is to be at the very top of the game. The Champions League is a signal of that. It's not about me. It's not about me or my ambitions. I'm proud to be here, like I've said before. My focus is on winning the game. My focus is on being successful here. So I'm preparing the game like we would for any game, to make sure we put in the best performance, to give us the best chance of winning the game.

There's a lot of talk linking you to Jeremy Jacquet, obviously from the French league, you'll know him well. What can you tell us about that?

You'll know about me, I don't speak about players at other clubs until something is agreed with any player. I think it's so disrespectful. If I was a manager of another team and a manager was speaking about my player, I wouldn't be a happy person. So whether it's true or whether it's not, I'll speak about that at the right time.

Axel Disasi back in training?

My decision on Axel, I had a really good meeting with him a couple of days ago. I wanted to catch up with him, see where he was in terms of his career. I said to the players, it's one thing saying things, it's another thing living that. I said to the players when I came in, it's a clean slate for everybody. So it was only right for me to have a conversation with him. Really good conversation. I got to know him really, really well. It was the right thing to be back involved with the group. Because of the situation he's been in, he's behind in terms of his fitness, his match fitness, and we'll keep working with him really, really hard to get him up to speed.

Still no sign of Raheem Sterling out there?

No, Raheem at the moment, we're in conversations at the moment about different things and different options that are going on in his career. And hopefully that will be clearer in the next few days.

Is Tosin Adarabioyo injured? Is Enzo Fernandez available?

Yeah, so Enzo trained today. None of those lads are at 100%. It's a bad illness. So we'll make that decision on Enzo tomorrow and what he looks like in terms of style from the bench. Unfortunately for Tosin, there's something in his hamstring which is going to rule him out for the next few weeks. But I can't be more precise with that at the moment.

What have you made of Liam Delap's progress?

Yeah. Yeah, I've been delighted, not just with Liam, with a lot of the players that I've worked with through my career. When Liam moved to Ipswich, we were watching every game. Not just him, Jacob Greaves, Jaden Philogene, I like to keep a track of the players that I've worked with and it was so good to see him perform at the level that I really believe he was capable of in the Premier League. So it did not surprise me at all to see him come to this club and move up a level again. And the great thing for Liam with his age, with his potential, with what I know he's capable of, it's exciting because he's got so much more to come. But in terms of working with him at Hull, I'm not surprised at the level he's got to in a short space of time. But he also knows with me I'm going to keep pushing him to keep improving. And if he can do that, and I'm very confident he can, he's going to have an outstanding career.

Enzo Fernandez has been linked with PSG. What are your thoughts on that?

It means nothing to me. When you're a world-class player, an outstanding player, there's always going to be speculation that you can't control. What I've said about Enzo on record is the case. He's been outstanding in the time I've worked with him. He's even surprised me in a good way in terms of what he did on Saturday to be ill, I know it was his birthday, but to be ill and cover the ground that he did, the way that he's trained and the way that he's performed. I'm speaking on the realities of the situation, which is he's a Chelsea player. He's very, very important to me. And I think we're going to have a really, really good, hopefully winning relationship moving forward in the short term and the long term.

How much of an advantage would it be to avoid the play-off games?

Yes, it would be optimal. It would be great. Especially when you're a new manager coming in, you want those training days so you can imprint a little bit more. But the most important thing is getting through. That's what's important. So tomorrow we focus on the game. Pafos is not an easy game. They're still in a position where they can qualify. Analysing them, they have strengths in terms of the way Albert has put the team together that we have to be aware of. But we need to go out and perform really, really well and not think too much about how important it is to miss out games. The most important thing is qualifying.

Coming up against David Luiz...

David, over his career, has had an outstanding career. He's had successful times at this club and I'm sure he's working really, really hard to be fit to play in what would be a really important game for him. Analysing the last game, I think he came off. I don't know how serious that is but I think for him he would love to play in this game and perform really well in it.

What do you think Fernandez's best position is?

Firstly, technically, he's outstanding. He covers a lot of ground. He's actually a very, very good athlete in terms of the way he can cover ground. He can finish, he can score goals .He arrives really well in the box when he plays higher up as a forward running No.8 or a No.10 in the pocket. He really does arrive well in the box and a player of his level can do many different things. What I need to do, not just with Enzo but with all of the players, is find out what the chemistry is around his position. It's not just him, it's how other players fit around him. For me, Enzo can play deeper as a six, which he did really well against Arsenal. I brought him on against Charlton as a pocket player and he did really well there. It doesn't surprise me because he's an outstanding player. I don't like pigeonholing players. I don't say they're one position. If you look in my career, what I've done with players, I've used them in different roles because of the way teams play against us and the strengths and weaknesses of each game. I'll do that with Enzo because he's an outstanding player.

Both times Chelsea have won the Champions League has been after a mid-season management change. How would it feel for you to replicate that?

Hopefully, third time lucky, you're not lucky to win a Champions League. I've said to the players, if we focus on each game, not think too far ahead, perform as well as we possibly can. I never limit the ambitions of my group, no matter what group I'm working with. But those games and those trophies don't exist if you don't do the job now. We have to focus on this game and hopefully another three points puts us closer to that target.

Mamadou Sarr won the AFCON at the weekend. Does he have a future at Chelsea?

Firstly, congratulations to Mamadou. It's a huge honour to win a tournament. I watched the game. It was a crazy game. He performed really, really well in it. It doesn't surprise me working with him. Again, he is someone at the moment who is not my player. I won't speak about players or their futures or what's to come because I have a lot of respect for Strasbourg. I have a lot of respect for Gary O'Neil and what they're doing there. He's got an amazing potential. He's got an amazing career in front of him. But in terms of our plans in the future or now, I don't think it's the right time to speak about that.