Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior said his team’s performance was both “indefensible” and “unacceptable” as he faced angry chants from his own supporters for the first time.
The chants began when Chelsea fell 1-0 behind at the Amex Stadium, with the visitors having barely registered an attempt on goal, before they eventually succumbed to a 3-0 defeat on Tuesday night.
It was a worrying display and a further dip in performance given Chelsea did not mount a shot on goal until the 40th minute and were error-prone defensively.
Chelsea extend an unwanted run of five consecutive defeats without scoring, their worst such sequence since 1912.
Rosenior said: “It was unacceptable in every aspect of the game, unacceptable in our attitude. I keep coming out and defending of the players.
“That’s indefensible, that performance tonight. The manner of the goals we conceded, the amount of duels that we lost, the lack of intensity in the team. Something needs to change drastically right now.
“I think the players as well need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics, tactics come after the basics. Having more courage to play, winning duels, winning headers, tackles, conceding terrible goals. That was an unacceptable performance tonight.”
It played out in front of influential co-owner Behdad Eghbali and the club’s sporting directors on the south coast, where Rosenior began his coaching career.
As a result, questions will grow over whether the Englishman can continue in the dugout in the long term, with a last chance to save the season to come in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Leeds on Sunday.
Seven points behind fifth-placed Liverpool, having played a game more, Chelsea’s Champions League hopes look in tatters and there are questions about whether the head coach, the players or the fans are on the same page.