'Nothing concrete' in Liam Rosenior Chelsea reports
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Strasbourg's British coach Liam Rosenior is a huge favourite to become the next Chelsea manager.
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PARIS – Strasbourg coach Liam Rosenior insisted on Jan 3 that there was “nothing concrete” about the reports linking him with the Chelsea job – his latest comments on the matter – after his team’s 1-1 draw at Nice in Ligue 1.
Enzo Maresca left his role in charge of the Blues on Jan 1 with Englishman Rosenior, who guided the Alsatian club to a seventh-placed finished last season, tipped to take over at Stamford Bridge.
The draw leaves Strasbourg, who are owned by Chelsea’s parent company BlueCo, seventh in the table without a league win since Nov 9.
“I want to focus on Strasbourg and not other things at the moment,” Rosenior told reporters.
“That’s all the information I can give you today. We don’t know what will be done tomorrow, but at the moment, there’s nothing concrete,” the 41-year-old former England Under-21 defender added.
However, he did use his post-match press conference to also reflect on his time in France, suggesting that he could be leaving soon.
“I love this group. I love this club, more than most people probably think,” he said.
“I’ve had the 18 best months of my professional career, for sure, I’ve made many good friends, I have so much respect for the people here.
“Things aren’t concrete, there may be interest, we’ll see. And at the end of the day, I want to focus on Strasbourg and not other things at the moment. I haven’t discussed anything at this point. I know that they’re (Chelsea) looking for a manager.
“Obviously, it’s our sister club. Other than that, I really want to focus on this club, because this club has given me so much, so many good memories, so many good times, the players, the fans, it’s a great city. Like I said before, if something happens, it happens. At the moment, nothing has happened.”
On the Cote d’Azur, Argentina forward Joaquin Panichelli opened the scoring for Rosenior’s side with a penalty on 13 minutes.
New signing Elye Wahi then claimed a point for the hosts barely 10 minutes after the break, having joined on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt on Jan 1, in Claude Puel’s first game of his second stint at the helm.
Frenchman Puel replaced Franck Haise on the French Riviera on Dec 29 with the Ineos-owned Nice struggling close to the relegation zone.
The 64-year-old had been in charge of Nice between 2012 and 2016 before a two-year spell at Leicester.
Puel has taken over an outfit with issues on and off the field, with their only win since late October coming in December in a French Cup victory over second-tier Saint-Etienne.
In November, players, staff, and management had a run-in with 200 fans gathered in front of the training centre to express their anger at the Nice squad as they returned from a 3-1 defeat at Lorient. AFP
