1 day ago
5
EXCLUSIVE: Barry Cooper, who covers Hull City for the Hull Daily Mail, had the pleasure of getting to know Liam Rosenior before he was given his break on the European stage
Liam Rosenior was appointed just days before the Championship paused for the World Cup in Qatar, and during that interlude, Hull City owner Acun Ilicali arranged for the players to spend 10 days at the luxury Regnum Carya resort in Antalya, Turkiye.
It came at a perfect time, given Rosenior had just taken over, and basically gave him a really good chunk of time to get to know his players and really hammer home his principles in the Turkish heat.
The trip was one of three I was lucky enough to be involved with during Rosenior's tenure at the MKM Stadium, and it gave me an early insight into his way of working, with him making me feel part of the Hull City family and giving me full access to his sessions and players around the complex.
Staying in the same hotel as Rosenior, his coaching staff and the players, I was able to be up close and personal with the new Chelsea head coach, Justin Walker and Ben Warner.
Rosenior was affable, personable and cut a relaxed figure around the complex, but intense in his work and clearly determined. During meal times, he would eat with his coaching group and keep some distance from his players to allow them to have their own time together.
He was open and would talk about football and family, with the latter being hugely important to him. I think the sense of family was a strong component of his management style, as he understood that everybody has their needs and would be treated as individuals in that respect.
Given he had a successful spell at City as a player in the team that won promotion to the Premier League, Rosenior already had a relationship with the supporters, which clearly helped, but he would turn up to fan events and do his stuff in the community when required, which helped foster a strong bond.
On the training pitch, Rosenior was front and centre. He will dictate sessions, interjecting and showing the players exactly what he wants through a variety of demonstrations. It was very visual. To say he was hands-on would be an understatement. He was front and centre of everything.
Rosenior was very methodical; his sessions were meticulously planned. His assistants, Justin Walker and Andy Dawson, would play their part and take certain bits of sessions, but it was very clear who was in charge, and that was Rosenior.
If a drill wasn't executed properly, they'd repeat it until it was, and it was clear that standards were very high, training was intense and with a purpose. Rosenior's attitude was very much that you trained as you'd play. He would be happy to not have friendlies against other clubs, instead playing high-tempo, intense inter-squad games.
Ben Warner, one of the chief analysts, brought in a drone to capture training sessions from above, and the management group would spend significant amounts of time going through movement and shape, with an emphasis on building out from the back, and looking to break the lines. His number six, Jean Michael Seri, at the base of the midfield, was absolutely crucial to that, as were his full-backs.
You can tell he built a good rapport with his players. Liam Delap spoke very highly of him during our pre-season trip to Istanbul shortly after signing on loan from Manchester City, and Jean Michael Seri was one who was deeply unhappy when Rosenior left the club in the summer of 2024.
He left shortly after, so his players respected him, and this respect was evident throughout the season. From a media point of view, Rosenior was good to work with both on and off the record.
He's very aware of what's being said in the media, and indeed on social media, and that's something he'll have to deal with on a much greater scale at Chelsea than he did at City.
He will have adapted, and no doubt learnt lessons from his time in East Yorkshire, which he will have taken to Strasbourg, both in terms of his style of play and his man-management, but his principles will remain the same.
Rosenior is a talented young coach who did a terrific job at the MKM Stadium and was badly missed in the immediate aftermath of his departure from City. As with all opinions in football, there are some who say Acun Ilicali was right to let him go, given the squad he had, which missed out on the play-offs.
There were others who maintain it was a bad decision, and one that the club almost paid for last season with relegation to League One. Ultimately, Rosenior was good for City, and City were good for Rosenior.
English (US) ·