It has not even been a month since Liam Rosenior was appointed as Chelsea manager. It certainly feels longer than that though. The Englishman has enjoyed a better start to life at Stamford Bridge than expected, with his only defeat so far coming at the hands of league leaders Arsenal. The performances have left a lot to be desired, but one cannot argue with the results.
At times, though, it has felt like Chelsea have been riding on individual brilliance to get those said results. And one player who has been absolutely superb under the management of Rosenior is Joao Pedro.
Pedro had started off brilliantly at Chelsea but appeared to lose his form along the way. He is well and truly performing at his peak at the moment though, with the brace against Napoli probably his best display in the Royal Blue jersey.
Rosenior has now shed some light on his relationship with Pedro behind the scenes. As reported by The Chelsea Chronicle, the manager said while speaking on Sky Sports Premier League:
"At the moment, everyone will speak about Joao because his performances in the last two games have been superb, like Crystal Palace, he was top. Obviously, his performance in Naples was incredible. So people will speak about him. Not just me, my staff, we put a lot of time into getting to know the players and what makes them tick and what each player needs.
“I think me and Joao have had some interesting conversations so far, a bit of friction at times, which you need, and a little bit of love at the same time as well.
“I need that. I need them to tell me the truth."
Liam Rosenior admits he has had 'bit of friction' with Chelsea player
Rosenior seems like the kind of manager who likes to have a very open and easy-going relationship with the players. A clip of him and Pedro sharing a light-hearted moment after the Brazilian's Man of the Match performance against Napoli went viral on social media recently.
To be very honest, Rosenior has been a breath of fresh air since arriving. Enzo Maresca delivered silverware for Chelsea, for sure, but he was never really able to build a proper rapport with the fanbase, always seeming a bit distant and guarded.
In contrast, Rosenior seems like someone who is intent on having that relationship with the fans and he has already won over a large section of the support, many of whom were probably against the idea of bringing in the inexperienced manager. That being said, at the end of the day, it is all about results at Chelsea. If things go south in that regard, it won't take long for the same supporters to call for his sacking.