‘The level of scrutiny and criticism will be the main difference for Liam at Chelsea. This is the big league and everyone is watching’ David Prutton on Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea biggest challenge

Features
By Contributions from published

The new Chelsea boss worked as a pundit before beginning his managerial career

COBHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 6: New Head Coach of Chelsea Liam Rosenior at Chelsea Training Ground on January 6, 2026 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Liam Rosenior landed the Chelsea job last month (Image credit: Getty Images)

Liam Rosenior’s rise through football management up to the position as Chelsea boss has been a steady ascent for a former player who is widely respected in the game.

A spell working under Wayne Rooney at Derby County was the springboard to his first permanent head coach role at Hull City, where he spent two years before being hired by BlueCo club Strasbourg in the summer of 2024.

When Chelsea pulled the trigger on Enzo Maresca’s 18-month tenure last year, Rosenior was parachuted into the Stamford Bridge job, joining a club that is synonymous with a rapid turnover of managers, where long-term expectations can seemingly never be met.

Prutton on Rosenior’s Chelsea challenge

Liam Rosenior

Rosenior on the Chelsea training ground (Image credit: Getty Images)

This will provide a brand new challenge for Rosenior, but one that one of his former colleagues believes he is up for.

Prior to moving into the dugout, the 41-year-old was a regular in the television studio, where he worked as a pundit for Sky Sports. Rosenior often worked alongside former Leeds United and Southampton midfielder David Prutton, who quickly spotted that the ex-Fulham man had a keen tactical awareness.

COBHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 6: New Head Coach of Chelsea Liam Rosenior at Chelsea Training Ground on January 6, 2026 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Rosenior was a regular in the TV studio before moving into management (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Liam’s insights were always very well informed – he’d done thorough research on teams before coming into the studio,” Prutton tells FourFourTwo.

“That’s not always the case for ex-players – a lot rely on their experience to give their opinion on the ‘feel’ of a game.

“For Liam, the tactical side was important. Sometimes we would have debates in the studio and Liam made his points very eloquently. He was brilliant at it.”

Todd Boehly’s consortium has been at Chelsea for less than four years, but they have already chewed up and spat out Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino as well as Maresca.

Unlike some of those names, Rosenior’s appointment was met with scepticism by some Chelsea fans, who questioned his experience and credentials.

David Prutton during a Sky Sports broadcast, August 2023

David Prutton worked alongside Rosenior for Sky Sports (Image credit: Alamy)

“That level of scrutiny and criticism will be the main difference for Liam in this role,” Prutton continues. “Every decision he makes, every press conference and every misstep is going to be met with countless column inches, radio phone-ins, TikTok rants and all the rest of it.

“This is the big league and everyone is watching. The way he handles that will be key.”

Joe Mewis
Joe Mewis

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

With contributions from

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.