2 hours ago
2
Liam Rosenior is the red-hot favourite to take over at Stamford Bridge
Liam Rosenior has refused to rule out becoming Chelsea’s new head coach following the departure of Enzo Maresca on Thursday.
Maresca and the Blues parted company with the Italian’s position viewed as untenable and Rosenior is the red-hot favourite to take over at Stamford Bridge.
Rosenior is currently the head coach at Strasbourg, who are owned by BlueCo as well, and the 41-year-old has his admirers within the hierarchy.
The Strasbourg boss held his press conference on Friday afternoon ahead of his side’s Ligue 1 clash with Nice and while insisting his focus remains on his team, he refused to guarantee how long he would be at Stade de la Meinau.
"In life, there are zero guarantees. You never know what tomorrow will bring,” Rosenior said. “I'm just doing my job. There's already been speculation. I don't want to guarantee how long I'll be here, but I enjoy myself here every day. I intend to continue doing so as long as I'm here. I love this club, but I can't guarantee anything. Nobody can.
"I want to do my job here, it's simple. The reality today is that I am the manager of Strasbourg and I am focused on my position."
Rosenior has emerged as the favourite to succeed Maresca, but Francesco Farioli, the Porto manager, is also someone on the shortlist at Stamford Bridge. Cesc Fabregas and Roberto De Zerbi were naturally linked with the vacancy, though sources have confirmed that neither are under consideration at the moment.
Chelsea take on Manchester City on Sunday evening, with Under-21s head coach Calum McFarlane, who took the pre-match press conference on Friday, set to take charge.
McFarlane described a “crazy 24 hours” after he was asked to step up from the under-21s to lead the first team. Sunday’s game against City will be McFarlane’s first in charge in senior football.
“It’s been a crazy 24 hours, a whirlwind as you can imagine, but really exciting,” he said. “I can only feel positive. It’s been an amazing experience.”
“There’s a really good culture at the club in terms the support from first team, from the directors,” he said. “Everyone seems interested. When we’ve had big youth league games, the first-team players come cross and watch. There’s an academy presence there as well.
“I was officially introduced this morning. My pass got changed to let me in. It’s exactly the same as whenever you work. We’re all in it for the same reasons, we all love football. There was a really good energy. We can’t ask for any more.”
English (US) ·