Chelsea have dismissed three first-team backroom staff members after the club reported a record pre-tax loss of £262.4million, according to reports. The Blues confirmed the substantial financial deficit last month, and have since made redundancies in an effort to balance the books, with pressure mounting on head coach Liam Rosenior.
Former academy coach Ed Brand is understood to be among those let go, as reported by The Sun. The cuts follow the announcement of the club's financial results for last season, which showed a mammoth loss. Brand, a former academy player whose career was ended by injury, had worked behind the scenes at Cobham and briefly served as assistant to Jody Morris at Swindon Town.
Despite the heavy losses, Chelsea are said to be confident of meeting the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules, aided by up to £65m in prize money from winning the Club World Cup last summer. However, missing out on Champions League qualification could leave the club in serious financial difficulty.
On the pitch, the pressure on Rosenior intensified after Chelsea were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Brighton on Tuesday. The Blues managed just six shots, none on target, and an expected goals (xG) of 0.37 at the Amex Stadium, with Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck scoring for the hosts. Chelsea dropped to seventh in the Premier League as a result, damaging their hopes of Champions League football.
Rosenior, who replaced Enzo Maresca in early January, has overseen just one win in nine games. Speaking after the Brighton defeat, he said: "That is unacceptable in every aspect of the game. Unacceptable in attitude. I keep coming out and defending the players, that was indefensible, that performance tonight." He added: "Something has to change drastically right here, right now."
Chelsea now face an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United on Saturday, with Rosenior's future under increasing scrutiny.
