Delap delighted to reunite with Rosenior at Chelsea

Liam Delap has hailed Liam Rosenior as an ‘incredible coach’ after reuniting with the new Chelsea coach in West London.

Rosenior has been named Chelsea head coach on a long-term deal, arriving as a replacement for Enzo Maresca. The 41-year-old has won admirers for his work at Strasbourg and started his Chelsea reign with a 5-1 win at Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup last weekend.

Delap knows Rosenior better than most in the Chelsea squad, having worked under the coach before. The forward spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Hull City under Rosenior’s management, where he scored eight times in 32 appearances.

Asked about his experience, Delap said he’s delighted to reunite with Rosenior again.

“He’s an incredible coach and an incredible person,” Delap said.

“I spent a year with him and I think his ideas, his philosophy and how he wants to play football will really suit us and help us. Especially me and a lot of the young boys he helped at Hull, he really helped us progress, and we’re all doing really well.

“I really like his management style. As a person, he’s one of the nicest but can be brutally honest at times. I think as a coach, you need to be that. He will tell you why you’re not playing, he’ll tell you where you need to improve, and he’ll tell you where you’re doing well.

“He’s really honest and if you build that trust with him and his staff, then it will help you. Liam’s honesty is really important.’

“I had struggled the season before I started working with him because that transition from academy football to a first-team environment is tough,’ he continued.

“But Liam was one of the coaches who helped me most in terms of that transition. I was very grateful for that, as he and his staff helped me and I developed a lot under him. I’m hoping to continue to do the same now we’re both at Chelsea.”

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