Leeds manager Daniel Farke admitted he felt for Liam Rosenior after the former Chelsea boss was sacked mere days before the pair were set to share a touchline at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Rosenior was axed by the Blues hierarchy following a dismal 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Tuesday – the club’s fifth Premier League loss on the bounce without scoring a goal, taking the club to a 114-year low.
It means Calum McFarlane will take charge at Wembley for what is his second stint as interim manager in four months, charged with arresting this slump and taking Chelsea within 90 minutes of silverware.
Farke, whose Leeds side have not reached the last four in this competition since 1987, cannot help but have sympathy for Rosenior and has backed him to come back stronger.
“I mind my own business and don’t take decisions for other clubs. First of all, you feel for a colleague and a really good human being and a promising manager like Liam,” he said.
“[He had] just one year in charge for Hull in English football, then he went abroad and has done really well. Sometimes we forget it’s his second season more or less in English football and this job comes with lots of pressure.
“I’m pretty sure he will have a big career in management and let’s not forget how young he is. He will take this as big experience and grow on it. And for that you always feel for the manager and you don’t want a manager to lose his job, that’s for sure.”
Farke highlighted that changeover in the opposition dugout does create challenges for preparation and is expecting the club to experience a “new manager bounce”, now without the excuse of Rosenior’s struggles.
“If someone overtakes just before your game, it doesn’t make the preparation easier,” he added. “That’s a fact and it also feels a bit tricky because it’s like a fresh start for the [Chelsea] players. Not to mention the quality of the Chelsea players.
“Everyone was talking about the manager in recent weeks but now that ‘excuse’ is away and it’s up to the players to deliver. Everyone speaks that they have to show the basics. It’s always the same, when some top class players are showing the basics and have no excuses, then it can be a really dangerous side.
“For that, I expect a Chelsea side who are back to their best. I expect a side that will try to prove it’s a fresh start and right now the burden is a bit away and we want to show more or less what we’re capable of. And I expect them to be back to their best free-flowing football.
“But we want to this doesn’t take anything away that we want to be successful again. For that we will prepare to face a really strong, a really dangerous side. We are greedy to also be successful in this game.”
Farke also confirmed that Ilia Gruev has sustained a meniscus injury that has ruled him out for the season, while being hopeful that Jayden Bogle, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Anton Stach will be included in Leeds’ semi-final plans.