What Liam Rosenior said during brutally honest meeting with Chelsea squad to solve problems
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Liam Rosenior admitted that he decided to hold a team meeting on Monday to address Chelsea's recent disciplinary issues.
Chelsea have now accumulated nine red cards in all competitions, or ten if you include former head coach Enzo Maresca's red card for his celebration against Liverpool in October.
Pedro Neto's dismissal was Chelsea's seventh red card in the Premier League, which is three more than any other club in the competition.
The poor discipline becomes an even bigger problem when it significantly affects the results of the games, and for Chelsea, it clearly has.
Wesley Fofana's red card likely inspired Burnley to make a late push and eventually led to their equaliser.
Pedro Neto's red card arguably killed any chances that Chelsea had of saving the game against Arsenal.
Chelsea had been very dismissive about their disciplinary issues since the start of the season, but Rosenior has recently taken some action.
"I’ll be very honest, we spoke (on Monday) as a group about how we can improve and what needs to happen," the Chelsea head coach admitted in his pre-match press conference.
"It needs to happen for us to be successful for the rest of the season."
Rosenior even claimed that he might have to start adjusting his team selection based on players' discipline.
"I can't afford to go for a season every two or three games with a red card. It's just not possible," Rosenior explained.
"I need to see improvement in that. I need to adjust my team selection based on who is showing those capabilities."
While red cards are clearly the most pressing issue, Chelsea also have problems with yellow cards.
They have accumulated the joint-third most yellow cards (63) in the Premier League, with a couple of key players at risk of suspension.
Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are on eight and seven yellow cards, respectively, and must not reach 10 until the 32nd fixture, the home game against Manchester City in April, to avoid two-game suspensions.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.