Gary Neville accuses two Chelsea players of ‘stitching up’ Liam Rosenior | Football

Gary Neville has accused Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella of ‘stitiching up’ Liam Rosenior before he was sacked by Chelsea.

Rosenior was sacked by Chelsea on Wednesday afternoon lower than 24 hours after the team’s 3-0 defeat away to Brighton within the Premier League.

The defeat on the Amex Stadium means Chelsea have now lost five league games without scoring a goal for the primary time since 1912, while the club now look set to miss out on qualification for the Champions League next season.

Calum McFarlane has returned as interim manager for the rest of the season and can take charge of Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United at Wembley this Sunday.

Speaking after Rosenior’s exit, Neville hit out at Chelsea’s hierarchy and believes two of the team’s senior players, Fernandez and Cucurella, undermined the manager by admitting that they didn’t want Enzo Maresca to depart Stamford Bridge in January.

‘I’m not shocked that Liam’s leaving the club, I’m shocked he’s leaving the club, I assumed at the tip of the season it probably would occur, I assumed they could have persevered until the tip of the season, given he had a six-year deal but I don’t think it’s a mirrored image upon Liam in any respect, obviously he’s lost a number of football football matches in the previous few weeks and he’ll be disillusioned with that, but I feel it’s time for the owners, sporting directors, players to reflect enormously on their role when it comes to what’s happened in the previous few weeks,’ Neville told Sky Sports.

‘The coach all the time takes the hit, that’s the role they’re in, they know they’re those that gets sacked, it’s easy to maneuver a coach out than it’s 25 players.

‘I mean the owners are getting it really badly improper there, let’s be really clear. I said on the time, they’ve got a bunch of talented players, young sporting directors in respect of experience related to Europe, an ownership that’s relatively young in respect of being only two or three years in, you would like some experience somewhere within the club. They put a really young manager in, I feel Liam should get on along with his life tomorrow, pretended the last 107 days never happened, don’t think it’s a mirrored image upon himself, go and get a job at a club you’ll be able to trust and leave the mess at Chelsea behind and don’t think anything of it.

‘The outcomes haven’t been ok and to be fair, I even have no other words than to say that when results aren’t ok a manager gets sacked.

‘But come on… Cucurella and Fernandez, experienced players, the one probably two experienced players that Chelsea have gotten, stitching him up in the previous few weeks by calling out the undeniable fact that they principally love Maresca. Well, they weren’t doing that well under him. I feel Maresca’s a wonderful coach and an excellent coach as well.

‘But this policy at Chelsea, this plan, I don’t see it. These six 12 months, eight-year agreements you see, it’s almost laughable from the beginning whether it’s for a manager or a player. The owners haven’t got a clue what they’re doing.

‘I’ve made massive mistakes as an owner [at Salford] but sometimes you’ve got to simply accept that and sometimes we’ve spoken in regards to the challenges we’ve had but they’re in all places and I just don’t get it really.

‘I feel you deserve what you get in football, and that’s each ownership and it’s a mirrored image upon them, not a mirrored image on the coach who, to be fair, probably shouldn’t have been advanced as quickly as he was into the role, he should’ve bene left to develop his profession, a promising young coach, well considered.

You don’t turn down the Chelsea job, you down turn down a giant job like that, I can see why it was appealing, the truth of it’s he just must get on along with his coaching profession now and put it behind him as quickly as he possibly can since it’s a club at this moment in time that’s a bit bit crazy in its decision making.

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