Rosenior demands strong end to the season after Chelsea hammer Port Vale to reach FA Cup semi-finals
Chelsea showed their League One opponents no mercy
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior hopes the 7-0 demolition of Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals will act as the springboard for a strong end to the season.
It has been a difficult few weeks for Rosenior, whose side had lost four straight games before today while he also had to deal with the two-game suspension handed out by the club to midfielder Enzo Fernandez for comments made during the international break where he said he wanted to live in Madrid, leading to speculation around his future.
But his side put those problems to one side by outclassing the League One strugglers at Stamford Bridge.
Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro and the unfortunate Lawrence-Gabriel all scored in the opening 45 minutes and Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Willian Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho completed the rout after the break.
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We’ve had a difficult 10 days – Chelsea boss Rosenior
Asked about the noise around the club at the moment, Rosenior told BBC Sport: “Football is about football on the pitch. This is a huge club with a lot of scrutiny, a lot of people writing a lot of things. We had a really difficult 10 days but the way we came through is a really good step for the run-in.”
Chelsea showed Port Vale no mercy, continuing to pour forward even though the game was arguably won at half-time.
Rosenior added: ”It’s great, it’s why you come to this club, you want to win trophies, you want to be in big games and I was really happy with the players. Their attitude was top. We scored seven goals and that came from an energy and intensity which I enjoyed.”
Estevao was the shining light for the hosts, growing from what was a difficult first half for the Brazilian into Chelsea’s best player.
“There is no ceiling for him. We’ve missed him. He comes in and just plays, he wants to get on the ball. Wherever he is on the pitch he’s a threat,” said Rosenior.
Brady proud of his Port Vale players
Port Vale have had a terrific cup run that included wins over Bristol City and Sunderland but they never really got going after conceding after just 64 seconds.
Boss Jon Brady and his side will almost certainly get relegated this season – they currently prop up League One – but the Australian says they can take great pride in their cup exploits.
He said: ”We put ourselves under extreme pressure conceding in the first minute. Three set pieces, we didn’t defend well enough. Very frustrating. It shows in the end. To keep it at four or five would have been respectable but to concede the last two was a bit of a gut punch.
“I’m proud of the players overall. It shows how ruthless the players are at this level and it’s something we can aspire to. It’s a fantastic achievement what we did [best FA Cup run since 1954]. We beat a Premier League team and a Championship team in one week. We know our fate has probably been sealed to League Two and we have to come back fighting next year.”