Rosenior insists Chelsea must fight on as Champions League hopes fade

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has urged his players to stay united and keep battling for a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League, despite a sharp downturn in form that has left the club in crisis heading into Tuesday’s clash with Brighton.

Speaking ahead of the Premier League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion, Rosenior acknowledged the scale of Chelsea’s struggles following a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, a result that extended a worrying run of four straight league losses.

Across all competitions, the London club have now lost five of their last six matches, failing to score in each of those defeats.

The poor run has intensified scrutiny on Rosenior’s early tenure, with Chelsea slipping further away from the Champions League qualification places.

However, the coach struck a defiant tone, insisting that short-term recovery must take priority over long-term discussions.

“We’ve made it hard for ourselves, we can’t give up, we have to keep fighting,” he said. “We have to win. That is what this club demands and rightfully so and that is what the fans expect.”

He added that responsibility ultimately rests with him as head coach, acknowledging the recent performances have fallen below expectations. “Being really respectfully honest here, we haven’t done well in recent games and that is on my shoulders as the head coach of the team.”

Rosenior also highlighted Brighton’s growing strength under manager Fabian Hurzeler, praising their resilience after a dramatic 2-2 draw with Tottenham. He noted that his staff had conducted extensive analysis of the Seagulls’ recent performances as part of their preparation.

“We do a lot of information gathering. We look at data and we analyse games, but a lot of it comes down to moments,” he explained, pointing to Chelsea’s inability to capitalise despite restricting Manchester United to a single shot on target.

Despite mounting frustration among supporters, Rosenior confirmed he continues to enjoy full backing from the Chelsea hierarchy, even after the earlier dismissal of former boss Enzo Maresca this year.

“100%. They have been supportive of me and our daily conversations have been supportive,” he said, stressing alignment between short-term demands and long-term planning.