Liam Rosenior made a prediction about Cole Palmer before his departure, backing the England international to rediscover his best form and play a central role in Chelsea's push for European football. However, Palmer was unable to reach the levels supporters had grown accustomed to during Rosenior's 107 days in charge, and Chelsea's form collapsed into five straight defeats that ultimately cost Rosenior his job earlier this week.
Rosenior's Tenure at Chelsea
When Rosenior arrived in January, Chelsea were eighth in the Premier League, and the improvement was marginal as they climbed only one place in the table. The former Strasbourg boss lost 10 of his 23 matches in charge, leaving the Blues facing the prospect of missing out on Champions League qualification. Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United now represents their final chance to keep their trophy hopes alive.
Focus on Cole Palmer
Throughout the difficult spell, Rosenior repeatedly spoke about his plans to get the best out of Palmer, whose form has dipped this season amid ongoing fitness issues. In an interview with Sky Sports, Rosenior appeared confident that Palmer was going to turn his season around. He stated: "You give him confidence, you point out the things he's doing well, you point out the things that are very, very positive in his game. In terms of chance creation, I've gone through the stats: the chances he's created in our difficult times was very, very high. We just didn't take the chances that he created. I've showed him that. You can over-analyse at times but that's not what I want Cole to do. Cole's an intuitive player. He needs to be free to express himself to the best of his ability."
Rosenior continued: "How we have tried to manage Cole before this period is… There were question marks about why he was coming off, why he wasn't starting games. We wanted him fresh for this period and so far he looks really, really good for that."
Palmer's Future at Stamford Bridge
The new head coach now faces a major task in getting the best out of the England international, who remains one of the Premier League's standout talents when operating at full tilt. How much of his dip this season can be attributed to the complex groin issue he has carried for months is hard to gauge. Even so, Palmer has attracted interest, notably from Manchester United, but the attacker has been clear that his Stamford Bridge chapter is far from over. He told The Guardian: "I've got no plans to move from Chelsea. We've still got a lot to play for. We've got the FA Cup semi-final [against Leeds] and if we finish in a Champions League spot it puts us in a good position to sign players that we need. We spoke to the owners and they're sure of the players that are gonna do it. Reece won't sign a six-year contract if he's not spoken to the owners and the directors. Me and Reece spoke a lot. About things we need, players we need to sign and how things need to be. He wouldn't sign a new contract if he didn't know what was going on."
However, what is clear is that Chelsea need Palmer back at his peak next season.
