Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah has insisted the players must accept their share of responsibility for the crisis that culminated in Liam Rosenior’s dismissal.
Rosenior’s brief spell in charge ended after a damaging run of results, with a 3-0 defeat at Brighton widely reported to have been the final straw. His departure followed a period of alarming form that saw Chelsea lose five consecutive Premier League matches without scoring, their worst such sequence since 1912.
However, there was a response of sorts at Wembley, where an improved display earned a 1-0 FA Cup semi-final victory over Leeds and booked Chelsea’s place in the final against Manchester City. Enzo Fernández scored the decisive goal in the first half, while interim head coach Calum McFarlane enjoyed a winning start to his spell in charge.
For Chalobah, though, the focus remained on accountability within the squad rather than managerial change.
“No matter when the manager goes, it’s difficult,” he said. “You spend time with them, working with them every day. You have to adapt, you’ve got to reset again. We can use that as an excuse, but at the end of the day we’ve got to look at ourselves as players and take responsibility.”
Chelsea’s downturn has raised serious questions about mentality and consistency, with their slump all but ending hopes of a Champions League place. With only a handful of matches remaining, they sit well off the top-five pace and face an uphill battle to secure European qualification of any kind.
Chalobah believes the solution lies in rediscovering the fundamentals that previously underpinned their strong start to the campaign.
“When things aren’t going your way, that’s what we keep hold of,” he said. “We’ve shown it in parts of this season. It’s about showing our mentality, our winning habits and winning spirit.
“It’s the hunger and determination. Wanting to win second balls, wanting to win headers. Those little things are what’s needed. When we do that, our quality shows.
“Maybe when you don’t win games, it’s hard to get that determination back. It’s just resetting, getting our standards back. It’s still the same players we had at the start of the season when we were flying. It’s not like we lose our abilities overnight.”
