Chelsea chief Behdad Eghbali admits Enzo Maresca exit was 'not part of BlueCo plan'

Chelsea chief Behdad Eghbali has admitted that BlueCo did not want to make a change in head coach at the midway point of the season.

Owing to disagreements behind the scenes and speculation emerging of a potential future move to Manchester City, Enzo Maresca made his departure from Stamford Bridge on New Year's Day.

Liam Rosenior arrived from fellow BlueCo-owned club Strasbourg and has subsequently overseen a mixed bag of results.

Four defeats in five top-flight fixtures have left Chelsea in sixth position in the Premier League table, just four points above 12th place.

Speaking at CAA’s World Congress of Sports conference in Los Angeles, Eghbali acknowledged that the developments went against BlueCo's usual strategy, with stability preferred over a change of approach.

'Maresca exit against out policy'

As well as suggesting that he wished that a better resolution could have been found with Maresca, Eghbali revealed that 'everyone was accountable' for Chelsea's performances on the pitch.

He said: "Our policy has been no in-season changes. You certainly review and hold not only the manager, but the management team, the sporting team, accountable, but typically in the summers, not in season.

"It’s not a change we wanted to make. It’s a change that had a bit of a negative impact in the season, when you’re changing systems and personnel, and it’s one we’ve got to fight our way out of.

“We still have six matches in the Premier League, and an FA Cup semi final coming up. So hopefully the story of this season hasn’t been written yet, and you’ve got a lot to fight for. In my perspective, when you get punched in the face, you’ve got to fight back, you’ve got to stand up and fight. And it’s going to hopefully show a lot about the character of this squad.

“I think the perspective is stability, and frankly, getting that stability on the manager side is one of the things we haven’t done right yet, and it’s something we’re striving to improve on.”

Is Rosenior safe at Chelsea?

Chelsea's only wins across 10 matches have been against Aston Villa, Wrexham and Port Vale, leading to increased pressure on Rosenior.

Nevertheless, Eghbali insists that the Englishman has retained his support, saying: "On Liam, we had the opportunity to work with him daily for 18 plus months, so we knew what we were getting.

"We think he has every attribute to be successful here. He got off to a great start. We’ve had a tough past five, six matches, but I think we’re behind Liam. Of course, it’s a results business, but we think he can be successful long term.”

Eghbali has also spoken on Chelsea's transfer strategy, indicating that supporters can expect a change during the summer transfer window.