Chelsea sack Liam Rosenior LIVE: Two favourites emerge as struggling Blues name interim manager

Former Chelsea captain, John Terry, says he has not received a call from Calum McFarlane to join the interim boss’ staff until the end of the season.

Terry has a part-time consultancy role within Chelsea’s academy and admitted he had been frustrated to have been overlooked to be part of McFarlane’s staff.

“I am not sure what Calum’s backroom staff is going to look like, I have not had a call, I have not had a message,” Terry said.

“I will be continuing my role in the academy, I will be in the academy tomorrow, a big couple of games coming up.

“We will all get behind Calum, he did a great job away against Man City previously and we will get behind the boys because that is what we do.”

Andoni Iraola was tight-lipped on reports linking him with taking over at Chelsea in the summer following the sacking of Liam Rosenior.

Speaking after Bournemouth’s 2-2 draw with Leeds last night, Iraola said: “For me now it’s about Bournemouth, four games (to go).

“We have an incredible position, an incredible fight (for Europe). As a sign of respect for Bournemouth, I cannot talk right now about my future.”

It has already been confirmed that Iraola will be leaving the club, and will be succeeded in Dorset by German coach Marco Rose.

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has criticised Chelsea’s owners and players after the club announced the dismissal of manager Liam Rosenior after just three months in charge.

“I am not shocked that Liam is leaving the club. I am shocked he is leaving today, I thought at the end of the season it probably would happen,” said Neville on Sky Sports.

“This policy at Chelsea, I don’t really see it. These six-year, eight-year agreements that you see, it’s laughable from the start, whether it be for a manager or a player. The owners haven’t got a clue what they’re doing.”

Neville added Rosenior “should get on with his life tomorrow”.

“Pretend the last 107 days never happened, go and get another job at a club you can trust, and leave the mess that exists at Chelsea behind.”

Chelsea FC: “As the Club works to bring stability to the Head Coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment.”

This appears to be the key line in the club’s statement, and could point to a shift in the type of management they covet.

After Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, two young, unproven head coaches, it might be time for an experienced manager, who can command the respect of the group, who, despite being young, have won major trophies, including the World Cup.

While there are four more matches left of the Premier League season as McFarlane looks to secure some form of European football at Stamford Bridge, his first test is an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United at Wembley this weekend.

The match marks a chance to keep Chelsea’s hunt for silverware this season alive, with the winner facing either Manchester City or Southampton in the final on 16 May.

While the hopes of Champions League football returning to Stamford Bridge hang by a thread after the loss to Brighton – with the Blues seven points behind fifth-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand – it is likely that McFarlane will name as strong a starting XI as possible against Leeds.

Calum McFarlane previously held the interim manager role in January after Chelsea sacked Enzo Maresca, coaching the team against Manchester City and against Fulham in the Premier League.

After securing a draw against Pep Guardiola’s side, the Fulham game ended in a 2-1 defeat.

McFarlane joined Chelsea last summer from Southampton, where he spent two years overseeing their Under-21s and previously their Under-18s.

His extensive coaching career includes a three-year stint at Manchester City, working with their Under-15, Under-16, and Under-18 teams, between 2020 to 2023.

Prior to that, he spent three years at Tromso in Norway and held youth coaching roles at Fulham and Crystal Palace. He also served as assistant manager for non-league sides Croydon and Whyteleafe.

So now Liam Rosenior’s LinkedIn profile requires updating. The manager given the cruel moniker of ‘LinkedIn Liam’ may struggle to spin a three-and-a-half month spell at Chelsea into a learning experience that leaves him ready for his next challenge.

Rather, it must have been a horribly bruising experience. Rosenior did not even enter the last five years of his five-and-a-half year contract at Stamford Bridge. Though not the shortest managerial tenure in his family, after his father Leroy’s 10 minutes in charge of Torquay in 2007, his 23-game reign gave him the shortest tenure of any supposedly permanent head coach in Chelsea history.

The risk is the permanent element is the harm done to Rosenior.

The interim boss lined up with a 4-2-3-1 formation in both of his previous games in charge, and opted for different goalkeepers in both, with Robert Sanchez used in the draw with City and Filip Jorgensen playing against the Cottagers.

With Jorgensen out, Sanchez will start in goal, while Trevoh Chalobah and Malo Gusto will likely start in defence as the pair started both previous games under McFarlane.

Marc Cucurella will likely play at left-back, while Wesley Fofana feels like the best option as a partner for Chalobah at centre-back despite being out injured when McFarlane took over before.

Injuries meant McFarlane needed to use a makeshift midfield against City, but the use of Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos against Fulham gives a clue as to his preferred midfield pairing.

In attack, Palmer was used on the right against Fulham while Estevao played against City, though with the Brazilian injured it could be that Palmer is used wide with Enzo Fernandez down the middle.

Finally, Pedro Neto played both games on the left wing, and while Liam Delap was used and scored against Fulham, McFarlane will surely prefer Joao Pedro if the Brazilian has recovered in time.

Predicted Chelsea XI against Leeds: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Pedro.

A sudden downturn in form in his last five games spelled the end for Rosenior’s very brief reign.

• March 14: Chelsea 0-1 Newcastle
• March 21: Everton 3-0 Chelsea
• April 12: Chelsea 0-3 Man City
• April 18: Chelsea 0-1 Man Utd
• April 21: Brighton 3-0 Chelsea

Win percentage: 47.8 per cent

Goals scored: 47 (none in the last five games, a record worst run in 114 years)