New Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior arrived with optimism, but Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Fulham underlined the scale of the task ahead.<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old described his appointment as “one of the proudest moments of his life”, yet the reality was clear as Chelsea dropped out of the Premier League top five for the first time since August.<\/p>\n
Sitting in the directors’ box alongside co-owner Behdad Eghbali and members of the sporting leadership team, Rosenior watched as the side he has inherited slipped to eighth.<\/p>\n
He replaced Enzo Maresca after the Italian fell out with the Blues hierarchy, with Rosenior joining from French club Strasbourg who share Chelsea’s owners.<\/p>\n
Those decision-makers were targeted by chants from the away end during the match at Fulham, while the Chelsea players struggled against their west London rivals on the pitch.<\/p>\n
Chelsea have won just one of their past nine league games and two of 11 in all competitions, falling from potential title contenders in November to a side now lagging far behind.<\/p>\n
They have ground to make up to achieve their minimum aim this season \u00e2\u0080\u0093 qualifying for the Champions League, which should be achievable with a top-five finish.<\/p>\n
BBC Sport looks at the problems Rosenior faces on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n
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