Chelsea vs. Man City: Liam Rosenior reveals extent of balancing act at Cobham training ground

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has revealed that he is trying to find the right balance on the training pitch ahead of the run-in.

Since being catapulted into the senior job at Stamford Bridge on January 8, Rosenior has recorded 11 wins, two draws and seven defeats from his 20 matches in all competitions.

Such has been Chelsea's schedule that Rosenior has had minimal time on the club's Cobham training pitches to make changes to the style of play under Enzo Maresca.

That has naturally contributed to Chelsea's well-documented defensive issues with a wide array of individual mistakes having been made across the last two months.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against Manchester City, Rosenior suggested that he is juggling with the best way to approach the transition.

Rosenior reveals Chelsea training dilemma

While Rosenior acknowledged that he has his own philosophy, he insists that he is not trying to make too many changes too soon.

The Englishman told reporters: "It's been nice. It's been the first week since I've been here that we've had two clear training days in a row to work on things.

"I don't think a magician can make a team look exactly how he wants to in the time I've been at the club, but I want to adapt. I want to evolve the team, but never at the expense of winning in the short term.

"You can't change too much too soon. That's something that I looked at with the staff. We looked at in the international break to make sure we don't change too many things so that we can win games in the short term, but still work towards what we want in the long term."

He added: "Any manager that comes in in the middle of, I think the start of January, you have 20 games in 10 weeks with a new group and a new club. You're trying to get to know those players. You're trying to pick them.

"Obviously, I've watched before all of the games. You try and make evaluations as you're in because you get to know the players better. That's difficult for anyone. But for me, it's making sure we use the time the best that we possibly can.

"I know where I want my team to get to. I know what I want the team to look like. That may take time, but it cannot be at the expense of winning games and fulfilling our short-term objectives."

Man City the ultimate test?

Not only is Rosenior facing Pep Guardiola for the first time, Chelsea have gone 12 matches without success against Man City since beating them in the 2021 Champions League final.

With a number of defenders still injured, Chelsea are considerable outsiders to get a result in West London this weekend.