Liam Rosenior reveals why he rejected chance to manage Chelsea against Fulham

Liam Rosenior spoke to Sky Sports before Chelsea's away clash against Chelsea (Image: Sky Sports)

Liam Rosenior has revealed he left his new Chelsea team in the hands of Calum McFarlane because he did not believe he had enough time to prepare for Fulham.

Rosenior, 41, was unveiled as the new manager of the Blues on Tuesday. However, as was the case in the impressive 1-1 draw away to Manchester City, U21s boss McFarlane was entrusted with the squad in the west London derby against Fulham.

The ex-Strasbourg manager could have insisted on being the man in the dugout, but opted to watch his new team from up in the stands of Craven Cottage instead. When explaining the decision, he insisted there would not have been enough time to prepare the team adequately.

Rosenior told Sky Sports: "Just travel but mainly the fact that Calum did such an incredible job against Man City. The performance of the players, especially in the second half, the energy, the intensity, the quality that they played with.

"They've supported the lads in a really difficult moment in a really good way. I flew over from Strasbourg yesterday morning.

"It's a difficult timeframe for me to get in the tactical work that I need to get into to give the lads the best chance to win. I've got full faith in Calum and the lads to win the game tonight."