Chelsea 'sack 3 staff members' and Rosenior could be next after Brighton defeat

Chelsea have sacked three first-team staff members amid a brutal run of form for the Blues under Liam Rosenior, with an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United up next

Chelsea have fired three first-team backroom staff after the club recorded a staggering £262.4million annual loss, it has been reported. The news comes as Liam Rosenior also faces a fight to save his job after a 3-0 hammering at the hands of Brighton.

The Blues confirmed the eye-watering pre-tax deficit last month and have since cut some of Rosenior's support staff in a bid to reduce expenditure, as pressure continues to mount on the manager.

According to The Sun, former Chelsea academy coach Ed Brand is amongst the three who have been let go. It is further reported that the owners made the cuts following confirmation of the enormous losses detailed in the accounts for last season.

Brand was a former academy player at the club before his career was cut short through injury. He has since worked behind the scenes at Cobham and even had a brief stint at Swindon Town as assistant to Jody Morris.

Despite posting a colossal pre-tax loss, Chelsea remains confident of satisfying the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability (PSR) regulations and the target for the first of the four years of the stringent UEFA settlement imposed upon them.

This is largely due to a substantial portion of the prize money earned from winning the Club World Cup last summer - as much as £65m - being factored into the figures. However, should Chelsea fail to secure Champions League football, the club could find themselves in serious financial difficulty.

Numerous fans are demanding Rosenior's dismissal following yet another calamitous display and outcome, as Chelsea were thrashed 3-0 in emphatic style at Brighton on Tuesday. Managing just six attempts, none on target and an expected goals (xG) of merely 0.37, the Blues were woeful from start to finish at the Amex Stadium.

Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck netted for the Seagulls on a miserable evening for the Blues, who dropped to seventh in the Premier League and dented their prospects of Champions League qualification.

And a run of only one victory in nine has intensified the scrutiny on embattled manager Rosenior, who has struggled at Stamford Bridge since succeeding Enzo Maresca as the club's new head coach in early January.

Speaking following the loss at Brighton, Rosenior confronted his Chelsea players and condemned his team's showing. "That is unacceptable in every aspect of the game," he said.

"Unacceptable in attitude. I keep coming out and defending the players, that was indefensible, that performance tonight. The manner of the goals we conceded, the duels that we lost. Something has to change drastically right here, right now."

When questioned about what he told the players afterwards, Rosenior added: "Why? We need to look in the mirror. I need to look in the mirror. But I can't keep coming out here and defending some of the things that we're seeing.

"Manchester United, genuinely the result wasn't there but I felt we turned a corner. But the general attitude, spirit was lacking [tonight], determination from three or four of the starting XI. That's nowhere near enough for this club.

"I can't come out and lie. I tell the truth. That was an unacceptable performance in every area."

The Blues' next outing is a mouth-watering FA Cup semi-final showdown against Leeds United on Saturday.