Liam Rosenior insists he will 'make the decisions' at Chelsea despite power struggle leading to Enzo Maresca's acrimonious exit

Rosenior has batted these suggestions away and claims he will be in charge of the day-to-day decisions in west London. The English coach will be desperate to avoid becoming yet another Blues boss to clash with the hierarchy and will hope to avoid a public blow up similar to the one which saw his predecessor Enzo Maresca sent packing.

Maresca was given the sack after a string of pointed comments aimed towards senior figures at Chelsea. The Italian accused the club of a lack of support relating to the reintegration of injured players and selection decisions, and his position at the club became untenable.

The Italian had not always been at loggerheads with the board and did enjoy success at the Blues in his debut season. The club matched expectations by winning the Conference League and qualifying for this year’s Champions League, before shocking most football fans by storming past Paris Saint-Germain to lift the Club World Cup.

These achievements were not enough to save Maresca from the chopping block and he was let go on New Year’s Day. Rosenior has been trusted to turn the ship around and he says that he will be given enough control to do so.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup third round trip to The Valley to face Charlton on Saturday night, Rosenior was questioned about how much autonomy he would have at the Blues.

“I don’t think it’s possible to ever be in this job and not be your own man,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “People will see through you straight away. I will make the decisions at this football club. That’s why I’ve been brought in. I understand. 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. The great thing for me is I’ve experienced working in this setup. The guys have been nothing but supportive for me at Strasbourg. We’ve had huge success at that club. I intend to work exactly the same way here.”

The former Fulham, Reading, Hull and Brighton player began his managerial career with Wayne Rooney at Derby County, where he worked as the former England forward’s assistant. He then took over the position on an interim basis before being handed control at Hull. At the Tigers he took the club within touching distance of the playoffs but missed out narrowly.

He was fired by Hull and moved to Strasbourg, lifting a young team up the table and finishing seventh. The club qualified for the Conference League and, despite missing out on Champions League football, underlined the work that the young English coach had achieved in Ligue 1 – under the ownership of BlueCo.

The Blues began the campaign tipped with an outside shot at the Premier League title and started the season relatively well. Their impressive 10-man performance against league leaders Arsenal in a 1-1 draw drew plaudits and suggested they were closer to lifting the title than perhaps previously mooted.

Yet, since that draw in late November, the Blues have been on a dismal run of form and are now 18 points off of the Gunners. The cub are also outside of the European qualification spots and have been overtaken by the likes of Brentford and Newcastle - two sides that were flirting with a relegation battle just weeks ago. Rosenior will have to halt the slide down the table if he is to win over the more pessimistic fans.