Liam Rosenior is demanding a new culture of accountability at Chelsea to rectify the club\u2019s alarming disciplinary record, following Pedro Neto\u2019s apology for his red card during Sunday\u2019s 2-1 defeat against Arsenal. <\/p>\n
The Portugal international became the seventh Blues player to be dismissed in the Premier League this season, receiving two quick-fire second-half bookings at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n
Neto\u2019s 70th-minute sending off, which sees the 25-year-old miss Wednesday evening\u2019s trip to Aston Villa through suspension, marked Chelsea\u2019s ninth red card across all competitions this term.<\/p>\n
“It needs to improve,” head coach Rosenior stated regarding the persistent discipline issues. <\/p>\n
“My job is to create a culture of accountability, where if you make a mistake it\u2019s OK, you hold your hands up and make sure it doesn\u2019t happen again. But you have to hold your hands up to the original mistake. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf I make a wrong team selection or I get something wrong, my job is to be accountable, and it\u2019s the same for my players in that moment.”<\/p>\n
Liam Rosenior wants his players to take more responsibility for their behaviour (Mike Egerton\/PA) (PA Wire)Neto\u2019s dismissal came just a week after teammate Wesley Fofana was also sent off in a 1-1 draw at home to Burnley. <\/p>\n
With 10 games remaining in the season, Chelsea are now only two red cards shy of equalling the Premier League record for a single campaign.<\/p>\n
The incident saw Neto first talk his way into referee Darren England\u2019s notebook while protesting Jurrien Timber\u2019s winning goal in north London, before scything down Gunners forward Gabriel Martinelli just four minutes later.<\/p>\n
When questioned about responsibility for on-pitch discipline, Rosenior replied: “You need team-mates to help but it comes down to yourself as well. Pedro has apologised to the group. We miss him for Wednesday (against Villa). <\/p>\n
\u201cI just need to see an improvement in the behaviour now. It\u2019s not just Pedro. People speak about dissent; we\u2019ve had needless bookings in terms of fouls. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are to improve and get to where we want to be, we have to make a conscious step now to make sure it doesn\u2019t happen again.”<\/p>\n
Chelsea currently languish at the bottom of the Premier League fair play table, having finished second-bottom last season under Enzo Maresca and dead last the year before during Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the Arsenal loss as a “missed opportunity,” Rosenior elaborated on his approach to remedy the disciplinary problems: “Sometimes it\u2019s not (using) a stick, it\u2019s showing what the value of not having a red card is. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at our stats when we have 11 men on the pitch, before my job here and after my job here, our percentage chance of winning goes through the roof, so that needs to be motivation in itself to make sure we stay disciplined in key moments. <\/p>\n
Cole Palmer is expected to be fit to face Aston Villa after picking up a knock against Arsenal (Getty Images)\u201cReacting to setbacks \u2013 sometimes a setback is giving the ball away, sometimes a setback is a referee making a decision you disagree with \u2013 in that moment you have to react positively and think of the next thing. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t afford to go through a season every two games or every three games with a red card, it\u2019s not possible. I need to adjust my team selection based on who\u2019s showing those capabilities.”<\/p>\n
In positive news for the club, Cole Palmer is expected to feature at Villa Park after recovering from a knock sustained against Arsenal, while Marc Cucurella is pushing for a return following three games out with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Liam Rosenior is demanding a new culture of accountability at Chelsea to rectify the club\u2019s alarming disciplinary record, following Pedro Neto\u2019s apology for his red card during Sunday\u2019s 2-1 defeat against Arsenal. The Portugal international became the seventh Blues player to be dismissed in the Premier League this season, receiving two quick-fire second-half bookings at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n