'I sacked Liam Rosenior but there's one key reason he'll be a huge success at Chelsea'

EXCLUSIVE: Liam Rosenior, who will debut as Chelsea boss on Saturday evening, has been tipped to be a roaring success at Stamford Bridge

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali believes Liam Rosenior will be a success at Chelsea, and says his possession-based style of football is perfectly suited to the Premier League.

Ilicali gave Rosenior his first permanent manager's job in football when he appointed him at City in November 2022 before sacking him after the Tigers missed out on the Championship play-offs in his first full season at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

The pair remain in close contact and speak regularly, and though he's proud of Rosenior landing such a plum role, the Turkish businessman admits he's been surprised by the speed of his rise to one of the Premier League's biggest clubs.

Though he doesn't regret his decision to let Rosenior leave, Ilicali says it was one of the hardest he's ever had to make, given their close relationship, which saw them go to the World Cup final and Champions League final together, as well as holidaying in Turkiye, during an 18-month spell together.

"I really respect Liam as a person first and foremost, but also as a coach. I felt that his style was not suited to the Championship and I wanted something different in the end," he told football.london. "It was a really hard decision to part ways because of the relationship we had together, but I felt it was the right one to make.

"I said at the time I felt Liam would go on and be very successful, and that's proved to be the case with the job he did at Strasbourg and now being given the chance at Chelsea, which makes me very proud."

Ilicali says the first time he met Rosenior, who had a fine career as a player with City and undertook his coaching badges while a player at the MKM Stadium, it became clear how driven the 41-year-old was.

"When I made the first interview with Liam, I saw a young manager full of passion and focus on being successful as a manager. I was in Los Angeles when I had the first interview with him.

"We met on Zoom at first, and he really just affected me. I was really impressed. The reason I made the interview was that I had watched our game against Derby County, when he was assistant to Wayne Rooney, and I liked what I saw in that game, so when I saw his passion and his energy, I decided to give the job to him.

"I can say that we had very good times together. He lifted the club, and it was a very good period together, and of course, I'm very proud that now he's gone to Chelsea.

"Actually, I'm surprised, but I have to say that in world football now there are very young managers who have become successful, like Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich, and like Liam, he's a good friend of mine and we talk regularly. He gave us big support last season, even though he wasn't our coach.

"From the young manager's side in football, everything has changed now, so I think it's a good idea to go and take on the challenge. I'm surprised, yes, but at the end of the day, when you look at his career, he's stepping on, and it's understandable that Chelsea has given him a chance.

"I want Liam to be successful, of course, but at big clubs, success is not very easy, and he will know there are so many challenges. It's not easy to stay for a long time when you are young, and this is a big disadvantage. Liam, of course, will need some time.

"If he doesn't finish high up in the Premier League, then of course he will have stress, but I would advise Chelsea to give him more time because it is not his team now. He will be happy to adopt the team players, and in the long term, if he can play with his players, he will be successful, I think."

Rosenior will inherit some big egos in the Stamford Bridge dressing room, but Ilicali has no doubt that Rosenior will be able to earn the respect of his new group, some of whom he's managed previously.

"His man management is top," he continued. "We had the stars in our team, like Jean Michael Seri, Ozan Tufan, and Fabio Carvalho. He had Liam Delap at City. We had six players who went into the Premier League, so he had some of British football's best young stars.

"He managed these relations fantastically well. The players loved him, and one of the most important abilities he has is his communication, which I think is top-level. He knows how to talk to his players."

Ilicali also has no doubts that Rosenior can improve Chelsea's young players, given the work he did at City with the likes of Liam Delap, Tyler Morton, Jacob Greaves, Jaden Philogene and even Fabio Carvalho.

"He's the best at developing players. He developed Liam Delap, he developed Tyler Morton, and he developed Jacob Greaves. Look at the numbers before him, you will see that he improved them very much.

"He's the type of manager who can develop players, and this is a big advantage for Chelsea because they have such a big squad and young players. I'm sure that he will pick some of them and develop them to the top level.

"His type of play was not suitable for the Championship, but it's more suited to the Premier League. The way he plays is all about having the ball, lots of possession and in the Championship, if your team is not suited to that, you will suffer. In the Premier League, he will have the weapons to play that game, and he will have a big advantage.

"I wish him all the best, and will be watching closely, and I would love to see our club come up against Chelsea in the Premier League in the near future."