Every word Liam Rosenior said on Arsenal defeat, why Reece James wasn't involved, attacking woes
Liam Rosenior has just completed his post-match press conference following Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday evening.
The Blues have been eliminated from the Carabao Cup at the semi-final stage following a 4-2 aggregate loss to the Gunners. Rosenior has just reflected on Tuesday evening's defeat - and here is every word the Chelsea head coach had to say:
You must have felt as if the game plan was executed well, almost to perfection?
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We've had a lot to contend with the last couple of days, a couple of fitness tests this morning. Normally I name the team the day before. I named the team this afternoon when I had the full details of who was available. I have to give the players so much credit. Our schedule has been incredible. So for them, to put in the energy, the fight, the spirit was there. But unfortunately for us, we didn't quite have the quality moments that we did get into the final four many times in the second half, but we didn't take advantage of those moments.
Can you tell us about injury issues and availability issues?
Pedro [Neto] and Reece [James] had small knocks. They were just in too much pain for tonight. They're giving everything. They would always put their hand up to play. Reece is an incredible captain and leader. I know Pedro is an outstanding professional and a great player. Estevao [Willian], I have to say, for him, 18 years old, to go through something very personal for him, to fly to Brazil and fly back in two days to make sure he could play in this game, says everything about the character and spirit I want for this team. And in terms of Cole [Palmer], Cole gave us an incredible 90-minute performance, the reason we fought back against West Ham. We have to take care of him. He's a gem. We have to take care of him and make sure he's right for the whole season. But when he came on, his moments were top. So all in all, disappointed not to go through against what will be a very, very good team, but we can't let this setback affect our future.
You've had lots of ups and downs in your career. Where does this sit in terms of disappointment, maybe when the dust has settled that you were so close to where you were?
I've been asked this type of question, so where does this sit in my career? I'm extremely disappointed every time I lose a game of football. Every time we win, I'm happy. Every time we lose, I'm not happy. I'm not happy that we lost the game. There are aspects of our game today that I'm very happy with, but I'm here with the team. You could see how devastated the lads were after the game for what they put in. We believed we could come here and turn it around. In terms of the control and domination we had in the second half, there were moments in the second half I thought it was there for us. We just didn't take it. So it's not about where it sits in my career. I'm hurting, but we need to move on from this very quickly because we have another game in three days.
Just on the game plan itself, what was the plan?
That was it. You saw it. You can come away from home, press all over the pitch, mouth the man and you could go 2-0 up or you could go 2-0 down. I felt that the psychological aspect of the tie was very important as well and I felt in the stadium as well. 60 minutes, I bring on Cole and Estevao and the game opens up and we have moments in and around the box. I think there was a feeling in the stadium that this tie could turn. We didn't achieve what we wanted to, but it's not about game plans, it's about results. I have to give our players so much credit for what they put into the game and ultimately their goal comes when we're just throwing the kitchen sink at the game. That's going to happen, but we have to make sure that we take the positives from that, but we're here to get results.
You mentioned the late fitness test. Did that affect a change of system for this game or was it just about personnel?
The availability of your players always affects your system. The opposition system, where you are in terms of your fitness levels, in terms of the intensity that we've put into games. Against West Ham we ran until the 97th minute trying to get ourselves back from 2-0 down. The emotions of Napoli. You take all of these things into account to give you the best chance to try and win a game of football. Unfortunately for us it wasn't to be tonight, but I think the players, what they showed me, which is really pleasing, is they can adapt tactically and flexibly in a short period of time. That's something that encourages me because I do like to work with different systems.
Is the bigger frustration maybe the way the first leg played out at home?
The first leg, we had a flu virus. It's not an excuse, it's the reality. We had a flu virus and had to change the team on the day of that game. I would have been in the club for four days. For me, the frustration is not going through. If you even see the organisation levels from that game to now, in terms of controlling a game, in terms of being on the front foot, I think there's a clear difference. I'm very, very pleased in the direction of our performances if the result wasn't where we wanted it to be tonight.
There seems to be a bit of criticism from the pundits on TV about not maybe doing enough of attacking in the first half. Is that something you'd accept?
I've been a pundit. It's easy. It's easy in hindsight. So, if I go and attack the game, press really high and we can see two goals early, everyone says, 'what's he doing?' That's the reality of my job. The reality of my job is if you lose games, you'll be criticised. If you win, you're a genius. It's normally somewhere in between, I think.
Have you seen a big difference from that first tie that you're starting to get the footings of your Chelsea team?
I think everyone can. I think you can. I think that's why you asked me the question. That's really pleasing. But, obviously, losing the game is not what we wanted. I've been in for less than a month. We've had eight games in that month. So, for the players, firstly, to put the performances in that they've done, to show me the learning and, by the way, the spirit, the togetherness, the fight in the team was there. There's a lot of encouraging signs. Now I need to see what we look like after a setback. We need to react positively. We have a difficult game away in Wolves on Saturday and I need to see what our reaction is to that.