Are they trying to win? Ex-Chelsea striker suggests Rosenior appointment shows lack of ambition

Ancient Chelsea Forward Chris Sutton has questioned the appointment of Liam Rosenior as the Blues’ new head coach.

Rosenior was confirmed in his role this morningsigning a six-and-a-half year contract at Stamford Bridge to replace Enzo Maresca, who was sacked last week.

The 41-year-old has a relatively modest coaching career with his best ranking being seventh in the Championship with Hull City and seventh in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg.

And Sutton says the decision by Chelsea and Strasbourg owners BlueCo to go for the former Fulham and Reading full-back indicates a lack of ambition.

“What kind of club is Chelsea?

He told Monday Night Club on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I hope it’s a decision that doesn’t swallow up and have a negative effect on his training.

“He’s a super smart guy, but the one thing I can’t understand about Chelsea is what kind of club are they? What are they actually trying to achieve? Are they trying to win?”

“They’ll say of course we’re trying to win, but you always felt, whether you liked the Roman Abramovich era or not, that they were always going to compete or compete.

“But I don’t get the same kind of feeling with this Chelsea package with the new owners.”

Nevin supports Rosenior nomination

Sutton’s skepticism is not shared by former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin, who believes Rosenior’s understanding of how the club’s owners operate could be an advantage.

Nevin said: “Since the recent ownership of Chelsea you’ve had Mauricio Pochettino, Frank Lampard, Graham Potter, Thomas Tuchel, not bad managers. Nice top managers who have lots of experience. Liam Rosenior is going to come in with limited experience knowing that if he doesn’t do well he’s in for it.

“Why not do it? The other thing you might remember is that we are in a changing world of football at the moment, and the organizations that own and run football clubs want a certain level of control and you can see it from their point of view. Why not? They pay the money. But, as soon as the manager succeeds and as soon as he puts his head above the parapet, we now see what happens.

“Maybe Rosenior coming from the Chelsea family from Strasbourg, maybe he will get the job. Maybe he understands the deal. And if that’s the case and he’s willing to work under these conditions in the longer term, he’ll survive as long as he’s successful.”

Rosenior will be in the stands while Chelsea, fifth go to neighbors Fulham tomorrow evening. His first match in charge will be the FA Cup third round away to Charlton on Saturday.