Chelsea: Liam Rosenior not sitting well with fans and players don't look like they are on same page, says Paul Merson
Chelsea have lost their last four matches under Liam Rosenior after their 3-0 loss at Everton; Spurs are in real relegation trouble after being beaten by the same scoreline to Nottingham Forest; Newcastle also lost the Tyne-Wear derby to Sunderland to increase the pressure on Eddie Howe
Monday 23 March 2026 10:41, UK
In his latest column, Sky Sports' Paul Merson has had his say on the Premier League's under-fire managers - including Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior.
The Blues have now lost four matches in a row in all competitions after Saturday's damning 3-0 defeat at Everton, which leaves Chelsea six points off the top four, and one point behind Liverpool, and a chasing pack is emerging behind them.
Meanwhile, it was another difficult weekend for Igor Tudor at Tottenham. They were beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest, who overtook them in the Premier League table.
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It means Spurs drop to 17th - and could be in the relegation zone by the time they next play away at Sunderland, live on Sky Sports on April 12.
And Newcastle boss Eddie Howe faces further scrutiny after a Champions League exit was followed up by derby defeat to Sunderland last Sunday.
Read below for the Magic Man's thoughts on Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle's under-fire managers...
'Chelsea players aren't on same page with Rosenior'
It's been a bad month for Liam Rosenior at Chelsea. That's four games on the trot where they've been smacked. They can't win one game.
There are ways of losing football matches and that was a horrible, horrible watch at Everton. It didn't look to me that the players were really on the same page as the manager.
If Arne Slot got the sack at Liverpool this week, or if Eddie Howe left Newcastle, would Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior have got one of those two jobs?
I'll go one further: would he even get an interview? It's madness.
This Chelsea team don't sit pretty at all with the fans, who have put Rosenior under pressure from day one.
But the board - whatever plan they've got - you'd think Rosenior would need to get into the top five for them to be happy.
'It's really worrying for Tottenham'
I was at Wembley on Sunday for the Carabao Cup final, but I watched the Spurs game there. Oh man.
At first Tottenham were on top and if they scored, they would have gone on to win the game. But they didn't, and they did what they've become famous for this season. They let in one - and then capitulate.
Spurs getting relegated is more believable today than it's ever been. Last week, they got a result against Liverpool - who were poor on the day - and then they played Atletico Madrid and won the game.
You're suddenly thinking: if they play like this, they'll be alright and they'll have no chance of going down. But fast forward to the next Sunday and you're going: Wow. Wow.
It's really worrying for Tottenham. Really worrying. And if they fall into the bottom three - and they could before they next play - then it becomes difficult for them.
They're going to Sunderland next and they'll be reunited with their fans after the derby win. Then it's Brighton, who are playing as well as anybody right now.
Spurs also have Chelsea away with two games to go - they don't want to be going there needing points, because that's Chelsea's biggest game of the season.
And look at West Ham's games. They've got Wolves at home, which isn't a gimme. They also play Crystal Palace in between Palace's Europa Conference League games with Fiorentina, so you'd back West Ham to win that.
And then they play Leeds at home on the final day of the season. You couldn't write it, could you?
'Howe shouldn't be under pressure at Newcastle'
When I hear Eddie Howe's under pressure at Newcastle, I laugh. Last season, he won that club a first trophy since I was born.
What have that club spent in the window? Newcastle lost Alexander Isak and they brought in two centre forwards who are nowhere near as good.
I didn't get the Yoane Wissa signing at the time; he only had one or two good seasons at Brentford. When you're paying that kind of money for someone, that player needs to be doing it on a more consistent basis.
They've also had injuries. They have one of the best midfield threes in Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali. How many times have they played together?
