Liam Rosenior was sacked by Chelsea not long after he made Cole Palmer prediction

Chelsea sacked Liam Rosenior earlier this week after a dismal run of form, with Cole Palmer's recent struggles in front of goal not helping matters

Liam Rosenior had backed Cole Palmer to rediscover his finest form and play a pivotal role in Chelsea's pursuit of European football before he was axed. Yet Palmer was unable to recapture the standards supporters had come to expect during Rosenior's 107 days at the helm, as Chelsea's form unravelled into five consecutive defeats that ultimately proved fatal for Rosenior's tenure earlier this week.

When Rosenior took charge in January, Chelsea sat eighth in the Premier League, and progress was minimal as they climbed just one place in the table. The former Strasbourg manager lost 10 of his 23 matches in charge, leaving the Blues in serious danger of missing out on Champions League qualification.

Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United is now their last opportunity to keep their silverware ambitions intact. Throughout this turbulent period, Rosenior consistently spoke of his intentions to unlock the best from Palmer, whose performances have dipped this season amid persistent fitness concerns.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, Rosenior exuded confidence that Palmer would turn his season around.

"You give him confidence, you point out the things he's doing well, you point out the things that are very, very positive in his game," he said. "In terms of chance creation, I've gone through the stats: the chances he's created in our difficult times was very, very high.

"We just didn't take the chances that he created. I've showed him that. You can over-analyse at times but that's not what I want Cole to do. Cole's an intuitive player. He needs to be free to express himself to the best of his ability."

Rosenior added: "How we have tried to manage Cole before this period is... There were question marks about why he was coming off, why he wasn't starting games. We wanted him fresh for this period and so far he looks really, really good for that."

The new head coach is now confronted with a significant challenge in extracting the best from the England international, who remains amongst the Premier League's most exceptional talents when performing at peak level.

Precisely how much of his decline this season can be linked to the complicated groin complaint he has been nursing for months is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, Palmer has drawn attention, particularly from Manchester United, yet the attacker has made it plain that his Stamford Bridge stint is nowhere near finished.

"I've got no plans to move from Chelsea," Palmer told The Guardian. "We've still got a lot to play for. We've got the FA Cup semi-final [against Leeds] and if we finish in a Champions League spot it puts us in a good position to sign players that we need.

"We spoke to the owners and they're sure of the players that are gonna do it. Reece won't sign a six-year contract if he's not spoken to the owners and the directors. Me and Reece spoke a lot.

"About things we need, players we need to sign and how things need to be. He wouldn't sign a new contract if he didn't know what was going on." What is abundantly clear, however, is that Chelsea require Palmer operating at his very best next season.