Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior claims 'noise was no surprise' after EFL Cup defeat to Arsenal

Liam Rosenior has acknowledged that any criticism of his tactics 'goes with the territory' of being Chelsea head coach.

Rosenior has enjoyed a strong start to life at Stamford Bridge, winning six of his eight matches in all competitions across a period where games have taken place every three or four days.

The two defeats have come to Arsenal in the EFL Cup semi-final, first by a 3-2 scoreline at Stamford Bridge before the Blues succumbed to a 1-0 reverse at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

In the aftermath of that game, some pundits criticised Rosenior for what were perceived to be defensive-minded tactics for the first hour of the second leg.

His approach worked to keep Chelsea competitive in the match before introducing more attacking players on the hour mark. Chelsea conceded a 97th-minute winner when committing players forward.

Rosenior reacts to criticism of approach to Arsenal second leg

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday ahead of the Premier League fixture at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Rosenior accepted that negative comments would always follow when in charge of Chelsea.

The Englishman told reporters: "The noise doesn't surprise me at all. That comes with the territory of being the head coach and manager of Chelsea Football Club. If I was surprised by that, then I wouldn't have been prepared for this role.

"What other teams do, the way other teams play, has got nothing to do with me. What people say outside of the club, what they think about the way my teams play, makes no difference to my decision-making or what I think is the right thing for the team.

"In hindsight, we didn't go through. You can always change and improve certain things that you do. But what I do feel at the same time, that was a very, very solid performance against a team who are very, very good at home.

"We turned the tide in the second half and the game could have easily gone our way. Disappointed not to go through, but now we'll move on and focus on Wolves."

Why most Chelsea fans will back Rosenior

Across his first eight matches in charge, Rosenior has shown that he is far more versatile and adaptable than predecessor Enzo Maresca.

While the Italian was far more focused on sticking with his chosen philosophy, Rosenior has generally tinkered with his personnel and system to good effect.

There was an air of Jose Mourinho in the way that Rosenior deployed defensive tactics against Arsenal, rather than go on the attack in the hope of levelling the tie during the early stages of the game in North London.

That all said, Chelsea now face a run of fixtures against Wolves, Leeds United, Hull City and Burnley, four games in which they are favourites.

If Chelsea do not win at least three of those matches, question marks will remain over whether he is the right man to lead the club in the long term.