Liam Rosenior has warned his Chelsea players that he is going to start selecting the team based on which players can be trusted to keep their discipline.
Pedro Neto became the ninth different member of Chelsea’s squad to be sent off this season across all competitions in the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
The west London club have 62 yellow cards and seven reds across 28 Premier League matches this term. Rosenior, who raised the issue as part of a standard team meeting earlier on Monday, insists such numbers cannot continue.
“The first thing is you pick players that are actually showing you that improvement,” Rosenior said, when asked about how he can get the disciplinary record to improve.
“I can’t afford to go through a season where every two or three games there is a red card, it is not possible. I need to see improvement in that. I need to adjust my team selection based on who is showing me those capabilities.
“My job is to create a culture of responsibility, where if you make a mistake it is okay to hold your hands up and make sure it doesn’t happen again. But you have to hold your hands up to the original mistake. If I make the wrong team selection or get something wrong, my job is to be accountable and it is the same for the players in that moment.
“You need team-mates to help you but it comes down to yourself as well. Pedro has apologised to the group. I just need to see an improvement in the behaviour now. It is not just Pedro.
“People speak about dissent, we have had needless bookings in terms of fouls. If we are to improve and get to where we want to be, we need to make a conscious step now to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Rosenior also revealed he is taking more of an active role in how Chelsea are practicing defending set pieces.
Chelsea have conceded the second highest in the Premier League from set pieces this season (nine) but allowed 10 in 13 (all competitions) since Rosenior was appointed two months ago.
The club hired Bernardo Cueva from Brentford to look after this department in 2024 but conceded twice from corners in Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal, alongside scoring from one of their own.
“Every manager has a different idea on how you attack and defend set plays,” Rosenior said.
“I have taken more responsibility in the last week because I know it is something that has to improve. Bernardo has proved what a fantastic set piece coach he is. In terms of our offensive output, it is among the best in the league.
“It is not just down to coaching, it is down to focus, concentration and mentality. By the manager taking control of that, hopefully from the mentality point of view, the mentality of that goes up.”