Liam Rosenior moved quickly to calm concerns about the fitness of Cole Palmer and Reece James after his first match in charge, a cup victory at Charlton on Saturday.

Rosenior named a heavily rotated side for the tie, handing starts to Jamie Gittens, Marc Guiu, Alejandro Garncho, Facundo Buonanotte, Andrey Santos, Jorrel Hato, Josh Acheampong and Filip Jörgensen. There was, however, no place in the matchday squad for Palmer, James or Malo Gusto.

“Malo, Cole and Reece were precautionary today,” Rosenior explained after the win.

The manager, who took over following a spell with Strasbourg, said he did not want to jeopardise the players’ availability as the season reaches a congested period. “I don’t want to take any risks at this stage of the season. They had minor tweaks or knocks from the Fulham game. And I feel like I’ve got such a good squad here. I don’t need to risk their health at the moment,” he added.

Rosenior indicated the decision to rest key players was partly about preparation for the next fixtures. Chelsea travel to the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal on Wednesday, a tie Rosenior described as an opportunity to secure a place in the club’s first major final of the season.

After that comes a Premier League match at home to Brentford on Saturday. The Bees sit fifth in the table, two points ahead of Chelsea in eighth, having taken 14 from the last 18 available to them. That run makes the weekend fixture an important step in Chelsea’s pursuit of a top four finish.

“We have a huge game on Wednesday, we have a huge game on Saturday,” Rosenior pointed out, underlining the compressed schedule and the rationale for managing minutes in the cup victory at Charlton.

For now, the manager has framed the absences as precautionary and part of a wider plan to protect key players for the challenges ahead.

Liam Rosenior has framed Chelsea’s current crop as a long-term project modelled on Manchester United’s 1990s youth revolution. He invoked the Class of ’92 era as an example of what sustained faith in young players can deliver and argued the club must be equally daring if it is to replicate that success.

“I was a Manchester United fan and I am now massively a Chelsea fan,” Rosenior revealed. “I remember Sir Alex Ferguson was brave enough to put six or seven players aged between 19 and 21 into a title-winning team because he believed in them.

“They grew and won trophy after trophy. It was an amazing period in that club’s history. Without that bravery, it doesn’t happen. There is potential for that here.”

The piece recalled Ferguson’s summer of 1995 decision to rely on academy graduates after losing the title to Blackburn Rovers. Paul Scholes (20), David Beckham (20), Nicky Butt (20), Gary (20) and Phil Neville (18) all featured in the opening game of 1995–96, with Ryan Giggs then 21 completing the youthful half-dozen.

Yet Rosenior also highlighted the quality already in the squad. “Speak about Moisés Caicedo or Enzo Fernández or Cole Palmer or Reece James—world-class players and still very, very young,” Rosenior insisted. “That is the ultimate ambition for this club—to create that again.”

The article noted United’s average starting XI age of 25.5 in 1995–96, the second-youngest in the division, compared with Chelsea’s current average of 24.7 and a relative lack of senior figures. Enzo Maresca had warned in December that experience is crucial: “When you have 20 and 21-year-olds and a player who is 30 or 31, and he starts to say something to them, it’s invaluable,” the Italian boss explained in December. “But it’s the strategy of the club,” he sighed. Less than two weeks later, he was gone.

Tosin Adarabioyo, who turned 28 in September, is the oldest player in Chelsea’s Premier League squad, which includes 12 players aged 21 or under. The club have not spent on a player over the age of 25 since co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley were appointed in 2022.

The debate over youth versus experience has a long memory. Alan Hansen declared: “You can’t win anything with kids.” Gary Neville reflected the same reality: “I’ve said many times that Alan Hansen was right, you don’t win anything with kids,” Neville told Sky Sports back in 2019. “The Class of ’92 didn’t win that Premier League title. We had Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona, Brian McClair and Peter Schmeichel. We had world-class performers and two of the best centre backs ever. Keane was the most inspirational captain and leader, Cantona was world-class, Schmeichel was the best in the world and Dennis Irwin was brilliant.

“They pulled us through it.”

Liam Rosenior used his first Chelsea press conference to draw a clear line under suggestions he will defer to ownership. Having spent the previous 18 months coaching Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg, where a similar structure is in place, Rosenior was at pains to say he will not be a figurehead.

Maresca’s frustrations with the club’s influential sporting directors and gaggle of co-owners reportedly stemmed from a constant need to defend himself and a sense that his recruitment calls were ignored. The former Leicester City boss saw requests for another centre back last summer and appeals for more senior players around the turn of the year fall on deaf ears.

Rosenior, 41, who had spells at Derby County, Hull City and Strasbourg and is a former Brighton fullback, was explicit: “I don’t think it’s possible to ever be in this job and not be your own man,” Rosenior declared at his first Chelsea press conference, which he prefaced by shaking the hand of every media representative present. “People will see through you straight away.

“I will make the decisions at this club, that’s why I’ve been brought in.

“I understand, I’m not an alien, I know what’s being said in the press but there’s no way you can be successful as a manager if you don’t make the decisions for yourself.”

He refused to adopt the more high-profile profile associated with recent predecessors but projected calm confidence. “I’m not arrogant, I’m good at what I do,” he shrugged.

Rosenior stressed his record: “In every job I’ve worked, whether as an interim, assistant, head coach, relative to the group I’ve worked with, I’ve been successful. I’ve always wanted to be at a club like this but it’s not about just being here, it’s about being successful.

“Nobody can guarantee wins but at the same time I’ve worked very hard for a long time to try and put myself in a position where I can be successful.”

Rosenior watched on as Chelsea lost 2–1 at Fulham, extending a five-match winless run that leaves the club eighth and 18 points behind league leaders Arsenal. He remained measured: “Hopefully, I can add my own ideas, sometimes a different voice helps, but the players haven’t been far away.” He called prioritising competitions “crazy” and highlighted positives around training and player quality.