Liam Rosenior's first message to Chelsea team speaks volumes as non-negotiable revealed

Liam Rosenior's first message to the Chelsea dressing room has been revealed by striker Joao Pedro

Joao Pedro has revealed the demand that Liam Rosenior issued to the Chelsea players upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge. The Blues appointed Rosenior as their new manager last month following Enzo Maresca’s departure.

Rosenior helped Chelsea clinch a top-eight spot in the league phase of the Champions League, while also winning all three of his Premier League fixtures in charge, which has seen the Blues climb up to fifth place in the table and ahead of reigning champions Liverpool.

Pedro has been a key player in Rosenior’s early tenure as Chelsea boss, scoring in each of the Premier League wins over Brentford, Crystal Palace and West Ham, as well as a match-winning brace in the Champions League victory away at Napoli last month.

The Brazilian will be hoping to be on the score sheet yet against when Chelsea travel to face Wolves in their next Premier League fixture on Saturday.

With Rosenior enjoying an impressive start to life at Stamford Bridge, Pedro has revealed the clear message that the new manager issued to the Chelsea dressing room upon his arrival.

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“If we don’t play good, it doesn’t matter, but he always wants intensity from us,” Pedro told Sky Sports when asked what was Rosenior’s first message to the Chelsea players.

“So it’s a very good point, because if you play with intensity, sometimes you don’t play good, but we still need to win the games.

“The first thing he said to us was to play with intensity.”

Pedro added: “I try to help the team on and off the ball, in the Premier League you need to play like this because if you drop your intensity in the game you can concede [goals].

“I think everyone has started to think more about running and to help each other, because with the ball we have a good idea and we can play well if we recover it faster.”

Chelsea are one point behind fourth-placed Manchester United in the Premier League table, but also just one ahead of Liverpool, who are sixth, as the race for Champions League qualification intensifies ahead of the second half of the season.

Rosenior’s first setback as Chelsea boss happened earlier this week when the Blues were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Arsenal in the semi-final of the competition.

As a result, Chelsea’s most realistic chances of silverware this season now rest on the FA Cup and Champions League, with the focus in the Premier League likely to be on a top-four finish given the 13-point difference between themselves and leaders Arsenal.