Liam Rosenior on balancing tactical evolution with physical realities | News | Official Site
For Liam Rosenior, tactical possibilities are bound by physical limitations. He knows getting that balance right is paramount to the success of his Chelsea team over the remainder of the season.
We travel to Arsenal this afternoon to begin a busy March in which our fight across three different competitions continues at pace.
As Rosenior continues to imprint his philosophy on the Blues squad following his appointment as head coach in January, he recognises the need to continually consider timing, both for the short- and long-term benefits of the group.
‘It’s okay in your mind to say, “I want to play this way,” but you have to tailor that to the players and their experiences and where they are at this stage of the season,’ Rosenior explained.
‘You can’t just come in and completely change their training schedule or what they’re used to because they’ll get injured. There’s a lot that goes into it, so this is a longer-term thing for me to address.
‘Fatigue is a natural occurrence of being a professional footballer. It’s about overcoming those moments when you are tired and making sure you look after yourself – and that the training levels and loads are correct.
‘At the moment, my focus and the way we’ve worked is game by game; what’s best for these players to win and what’s best for us to win each game. That’s how it’s going to be until the end of the season.’
It was put to Rosenior in his pre-match press conference that today’s opponents, Arsenal, have covered the most ground in the Premier League this season. The Blues, in contrast, have covered the least.
Our head coach explained why he would not read too much into that statistic, but he is aware of areas his team can improve in time.
‘Our possession stats are very high,’ Rosenior highlighted, ‘and if your possession stats are high, you run less.
‘You always want to be top of every category, and Arsenal do that. They’re a very physical, high-pressing, high-energy team.
‘I want us to be high pressing and high energy as well. That’s something you can’t solve in a short space of time. That comes over a period of months and hopefully years. But I know where I want this team to get to, in every aspect.’
A positive result at the Emirates today would be a significant step forward in achieving those aspirations.
