Liam Rosenior's checklist as he begins life as Chelsea's new boss

It's a dramatic start to 2026 for Chelsea, as they said goodbye to yet another manager following Enzo Maresca's departure from the club and now begin a new era under Liam Rosenior. 

It's quite the step-up for the former Premier League full-back, who cut his managerial teeth under Wayne Rooney at Derby before embarking on a career as number at Hull City and then most recently French side Strasbourg. 

He has signed a six-year deal to be the new Blues boss, in what is his first managerial post in England's top flight. 

Rosenior got a good look at his new side as the issues he faces as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Wednesday night and will take charge of his first game this weekend with an FA Cup trip to Charlton.

With the club sitting in fifth place in the league table, the aim for the rest of the campaign will be to secure Champions League football for the West London club, but what needs to be done to the squad so the new boss can get the best out of the Blues? 

Sort out the team's discipline 

One of Chelsea's biggest downfalls so far this season has been their terrible disciplinary record. 

Marc Cucurella became the latest player to see red on Wednesday, exiting the game after just twenty minutes to leave his side at a disadvantage as they went on to lose the game to their West London rivals. 

He became the SEVENTH player to receive his marching orders for the Blues this season, five of which have come in the league. Given the Premier League record is nine in a season, it shows just how indisciplined the team have been. 

You'd hardly describe Chelsea as a dirty side, so therefore the red cards have come to bad decision-making, something Rosenior needs to shake from the squad, otherwise they are all too often facing an uphill battle in games with having less men on the field. 
Imago Images

Decide if Robert Sanchez is the number one 

Chelsea's goalkeeping position has long been up for discussion and one of the conversations Rosenior should be having early on is whether the club are sticking or twisting when it comes to who is the Blues' number one. 

Robert Sanchez is at the moment considered the first-choice stopper and while the Spaniard is a very talented goalie, the general consensus is that he's not the high-profile name you need if you want to be challenging for top honours. For instance, as good as he is, he's arguably not in the same league as David Raya, Gigi Donnarumma and Alisson, who are the teams Chelsea are competing with. 

However, on his day, there is a very good goalie in Sanchez, as proved last summer when he was named as the best in his position at the FIFA Club World Cup. Yet, he is prone to critical lapses that have previously costly for Chelsea. 

Is January the ideal time to recify the issue? Perhaps now, but it's an issue nonetheless that needs rectifying. 

Get Liam Delap firing 

In one of those strange twists of fate that only football can throw up, it was only two years ago that Liam Delap was playing under Rosenior, when both were at Hull City in the Championship. 

It was a season that saw the young striker score eight times for the Tigers during a loan spell from Manchester City. His best return during one of the three loans he experienced at that level. 

Following that season, Delap moved to Ipswich and his goals and performances for the Tractor Boys convinced Chelsea to sign him last summer, but so far, the forward has failed to find any rhythm at Stamford Bridge. 

He's netted just once this campaign, but with a new boss who has worked with him before, who has a much more flowing style of play, it could give Delap a reboot he needs. 

Chelsea are crying out for a regular goalscoring number nine and, having struggled with form and fitness so far, the link-up of the Liams could prove beneficial all round. 

Find Cole Palmer's mojo again 

One of Chelsea's fans' biggest gripes against Enzo Maresca was that his style of play, which was hugely based on passing and positional structure, stilted the explosiveness of star man Cole Palmer. 

Having starred under Mauricio Pochettino in his first season at the club, it at times last year felt like Palmer wasn't allowed to express himself in the same way and thus deprived the fans of seeing their hero in full flow. 

Luckily, Rosenior has proved to be a much more flexible coach during his time in France and favours a quicker attacking style, which should suit Palmer and give him more freedom to do what he does best. 

It's been a season of setbacks for the England man, but 2026 could see the real Cole Palmer return, and that can only be good news for club and country. 

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Get the best out of an array of attackers 

Rosenoir's focus on short, quick passing should suit the plethora of attacking options available to the manager, too. 

Strasbourg attempted the third-most passes in the league this season, while their xG per shot is averaging 0.14 - which is the joint-best in the division - and they have played the shortest number of long passes, too. 

All stats that would seem to benefit names such as Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro and so forth. The job for Rosenior is to get some consistency out of his array of attackers and decide which works best for his system and his Chelsea vision. 

There's no doubting the talent available to him, but it's not something we've seen on a consistent basis from any of them. 

 Chelsea

How to watch the Premier League in Canada

Soccer fans in Canada can watch every Premier League match during the 2025-26 season on DAZN.

With Fubo Sports on DAZN, Canadians can catch Premier League action as well as Serie A. Additionally, DAZN is the home of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Bundesliga, and more.

For pricing information and to sign up to watch, click here.