Rosenior fired as Chelsea manager

LONDON, England:

Liam Rosenior has been fired as Chelsea manager after a desperate English Premier League run of five losses without scoring a goal.

Chelsea confirmed his departure on Wednesday, less than four months into the job and just four days before they play in an FA Cup semifinal at Wembley.

Assistant Calum McFarlane will take charge on an interim basis until the end of the season.

"This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly. However, recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much more to play for this season," Chelsea said in a statement.

The team that won the Club World Cup last year now looks likely to miss out on next season's Champions League. That would mean a huge financial hit for a club that has spent billions of dollars under U.S. owners Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly.

TITANIC SANK

The five-game losing streak is their worst since 1912 - the same year the Titanic sank.

Tuesday's 3-0 defeat to Brighton proved the last straw for Rosenior, an inexperienced coach at the highest level who was hired from Chelsea's sister club Strasbourg in January. It was a seventh loss in eight games in all competitions.

Chelsea have won one of their last nine in the league, are seventh in the standings and seven points adrift of the top five, who all qualify for the Champions League.

Rosenior, 41, turned on his players following the Brighton match, saying the performance was "indefensible" and that "something needs to change drastically".

The club's hierarchy clearly agreed, despite saying Rosenior had "always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism".

Rosenior replaced Club World Cup-winning coach Enzo Maresca in January and only took charge of 23 games.

He started impressively with a run of six wins in seven games, but things unravelled quickly in recent weeks, including elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

His tenure was brought to an end despite Chelsea preparing for their FA Cup semifinal against Leeds on Sunday.

Rosenior becomes the fifth permanent manager to lose his job since Clearlake and Boehly bought one of English soccer's most storied clubs in 2022. Now the search is on for a sixth to try to bring sustained success.

- AP