Jan 10 : Liam Rosenior is hoping to follow in the footsteps of former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson by transforming Chelsea’s young and inexperienced squad into winners.
The “Class of 92” under Ferguson created an era of domination of the English game out of a team which won the FA Youth Cup in 1992 and went on to win the Champions League as part of a treble of trophies in 1999.
The group included the likes of Gary Neville, David Beckham and Paul Scholes.
“I was a Manchester United fan and I am now massively a Chelsea fan,” Rosenior told reporters on Friday ahead of an FA Cup tie at Charlton Athletic.
“I remember Alex Ferguson was brave enough to put six or seven players aged between 19 and 21 into a title-winning team because he believed in them. They grew and won trophy after trophy. It was an amazing period in that club’s history.
“Without that bravery, it doesn’t happen. There is potential for that here … Speak about Moises Caicedo or Enzo Fernandez or Cole Palmer or Reece James – world-class players and still very, very young. That is the ultimate ambition for this club – to create that again.”
Rosenior, confirmed as Chelsea’s new head coach on Tuesday following the departure of Italian Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day, has experience working with young teams.
His squad at his previous club, Strasbourg, was the youngest in Europe’s top five leagues, with an average starting age of just under 22 years.
“If you watched the Strasbourg team I coached, everyone enjoyed watching them because they played with intensity,” Rosenior said.
“Why? Because they were young, fit, less prone to injury. I’m going to work really hard to create that here. I have to train the players right, work with the medical team and look after them because they have outstanding careers ahead.
“But that doesn’t stop you being successful now. If I thought it was impossible to win with this group, I wouldn’t have come.”
