Chelsea Boss Rosenior Wants 'To See Improvement In Behaviour Now' After Neto Red

Last Updated:March 03, 2026, 09:11 IST

The Blues manager stated that he looks to create a culture of accountability in which players cop to blame and work on rectifying the same.

On Monday, Liam Rosenior called for improved discipline from his Chelsea players after Pedro Neto became the ninth player to be sent off this season, warning that he may drop players who do not demonstrate better control.

Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday marked their fourth loss in their last six matches in all competitions. They currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, trailing fourth-placed Aston Villa by three points ahead of their match on Wednesday, and are three points behind Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification next season.

Chelsea have struggled with discipline this season, with Neto being the seventh Stamford Bridge player to receive a red card in the Premier League. Chelsea manager Rosenior, who took over from Enzo Maresca in January, mentioned that Neto had apologised to his teammates following his dismissal in the 70th minute.

“My job is to create a culture of accountability, where if you make a mistake, it’s OK, you hold your hands up and you make sure it doesn’t happen again," Rosenior said.

“But you have to hold your hands up to the original mistake. If I make the wrong team selection, or I get something wrong, my job is to be accountable, and it’s the same for my players in that moment."

Rosenior noted that Portugal winger Neto, who will miss this week’s match at Villa Park, had apologised to his teammates. The Chelsea manager highlighted that there were various approaches to addressing the issue.

“I just need to see an improvement in the behaviour now," he said.

“And it’s not just Pedro. We’ve had bookings. People speak about dissent. We’ve had needless bookings in terms of fouls. If we are to improve and get to where we want to be, we have to make a conscious step now to make sure it doesn’t happen again."

“Sometimes it’s not a stick, it’s showing what the value of not having a red card is," he said.

“If you look at our stats, when we have 11 men on the pitch, before my job here and after my job here, our percentage chance of winning goes through the roof.

“So that needs to be motivation in itself, to make sure we stay disciplined in key moments, reacting to setbacks. Sometimes a setback is giving the ball away, sometimes a setback is a referee making a decision you disagree with.

“In that moment you have to react positively and you have to think of the next thing. Those are the things we have to go after in order for our discipline to improve."

“You pick players who are showing that improvement. I can’t afford to go through a season every two games or every three games with a red card, it’s just not possible," he said.

“So I need to see improvement in that and I need to adjust my team selection based on who’s showing those capabilities."

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