Malo Gusto has defended under-fire boss Liam Rosenior and insists his Chelsea side must believe in the English manager.
Rosenior is now widely considered a strange appointment by Chelsea following their decision to sack Enzo Maresca. The latter left in acrimonious circumstances, with reports stating there were disagreements with the ownership over their transfer model.
Chelsea did spring a surprise by appointing the former RC Strasbourg boss as Maresca’s successor, as they had also been linked with multiple other names who carried far bigger reputations than Rosenior. However, the English manager made a good start to life at Stamford Bridge, winning his first four league games and going on a six-game unbeaten run.
In the following four games, Rosenior has managed only one win, which came against top-four rivals Aston Villa. Before the international break, Chelsea were thoroughly thrashed by Everton with a 3-0 scoreline at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, which has further increased the pressure on the manager.
Amid suggestions that Rosenior could be sacked, Chelsea are not planning any drastic steps as things stand with their manager. That is not to suggest the Blues are averse to another change in the dugout, as a failure to qualify for the Champions League could alter their stance and lead to Rosenior’s dismissal in the summer.
For now, Rosenior’s job appears safe, and the players at Chelsea are seemingly backing him. Right-back Malo Gusto had plenty of positive things to say about his manager, with his comments that appeared on ESPN hinting that the squad are behind him and his ideas.
Gusto said, “I think he Rosenior is a top coach, I saw that a lot of people criticised him. Not really understanding why he is being criticised so much. I have worked with him a lot since he joined Chelsea. I think he is a top person first of all, a top manager as well and as you say, he is young.”
“He is a lot of things for the future, but if he is the Chelsea manager it is because he has the talent for this. As I said before, for us as a team, we have to believe in him, believe in the way we play, to stick to our plan and see how it goes.”
“He is a good person, he is really honest, really simple, you can see that he is really passionate. He wants to share his passion for football with us and I feel like I want to play for him, I want to show my best when he puts me on the pitch.”
Gusto clearly believes in the current Chelsea boss and his ideas, and so does the club. The Blues are ready to hand Rosenior plenty of time to improve the club’s fortunes, which may also hint that they could keep him on board beyond the current season. However, as mentioned before, the team’s inability to secure Champions League football could harm Rosenior’s long-term prospects at the club.
While the English manager recently insisted that a top-four or top-five finish may not be their absolute priority, things in football can take a drastic turn, and in Chelsea’s case, he could face the sack if they were to play in any competition other than the Champions League next season.
