Liam Rosenior has major Chelsea 'problem' despite club's clear stance

Former Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet has been speaking about his old club and their decision to appoint Liam Rosenior as head coach almost two months ago

Gus Poyet believes Liam Rosenior has been put in a "very difficult situation" by Chelsea's owners due to the way Enzo Maresca's departure unfolded.

Maresca departed the Blues on New Year's Day after falling out with those above him at Stamford Bridge. There were many reasons behind the Italian's exit from the club but one of the main ones was to do with his broken relationship with the medical staff at Cobham.

It is understood that Maresca would sometimes go against medical advice on certain players and the amount of minutes they should play. Poyet thinks that has now put Rosenior, who replaced Maresca as Chelsea head coach less than a week after he departed, in a difficult position when it comes to the usage of his players.

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Speaking exclusively to football.london, the former Chelsea midfielder said: "I think they put Liam in a really difficult position. The supposed reason why Maresca left, I don't know if it's true, but all the rumours about the misunderstanding or disagreement with the medical staff, Maresca and his staff, about players playing certain games, certain minutes, those rumours.

"I don't know if it's true - but I know a lot of people were talking about that. Then the manager leaves, if you are a normal person and not a fanatic, and the next manager, whoever it is, when you make a change after 45 or 60 minutes, the first thing everyone in the world is going to think is because the medical staff told you to do it. It's as simple as that. You're in a very difficult situation as a coach."

Rosenior's Chelsea side lost four on the bounce going into this international break, with the head coach's position coming into serious question among some supporters. However, football.london understands the Blues are continuing to back the 41-year-old and - barring a complete collapse between now and the end of the season - he will not be sacked, even if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Poyet, though, thinks Rosenior has a "problem" after four successive losses - and said that any manager, regardless of their CV, would have the same issue.

The ex-Blues man added: "When you try to deny those things publicly [about taking advice from the medical staff] and try to explain the situations and cover all these things, the only one that loses is the manager.

"[If you are] winning, you get away with it. If you lose four in a row at Chelsea, it doesn't matter who you are; you can ask [Jose] Mourinho, [Carlo] Ancelotti, [Antonio] Conte, [Luiz Felipe] Scolari, all of the managers that have some problems and got sacked.

"I think that Liam had to take the job because it was unexpected - you must take it, you can't say no. People might say, 'maybe he should have waited a few more years', no, when Chelsea come to you, you have to take it. Then how do you deal with that? Now, losing four games in a row, it's a problem. Difficult situation for Liam."