Calum McFarlane ‘gutted’ Liam Rosenior didn’t work out at Chelsea as he reveals phone call

Interim Chelsea manager Calum McFarlane says he’s “gutted” that things did not work out for Liam Rosenior after he was sacked less than four months into the job.

Rosenior was dismissed in the aftermath of Chelsea’s dismal 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Tuesday - their fifth league defeat on the bounce without scoring a goal, taking the club to a 114-year low.

McFarlane insisted that he has a lot of respect for the former manager and revealed that the pair had a phone call on the day of his exit.

"I spoke to him,” he said. “I am not sure how he has done that [spoken to the players] or how that has been done. I've spoken to him on the phone on Wednesday. He was good, it was a good conversation.

Calum McFarlane (left) speaks to former Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior (PA)

“I have a lot of respect for Liam, I didn't know him before he came to the club, he welcomed me in brilliantly. I have a great relationship with him and I am gutted it didn't work out."

McFarlane refused to go into depth on what went wrong under Rosenior and said that he has not held a “clear-the-air meeting” with the players as he embarks on his second stint as interim boss this season.

He took charge for two games following the departure of Enzo Maresca in January, with his maiden outing seeing Chelsea snatch a late draw away at Manchester City.

But the stakes are even higher for his return fixture as he leads Chelsea into their FA Cup semi-final clash with Leeds, something he is tunnel-visioned on.

“We have got the group focused for Sunday,” he added. “Spoken about the game plan and how we are going to approach the game both in and out of possession. It's important we have a real focus for the game on Sunday.