The Manager Enzo Maresca Labels Lead-Up Period as The 'Toughest 48 Hours' with the Club
Chelsea tactician Enzo Maresca revealed that the preparation to Saturday's win against Everton represented "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.
The 44-year-old made a rather mysterious statement in his after-game media briefing despite notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge through goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
Those crucial points propelled Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, potentially lightening the mood following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's winless run to four matches.
However, when questioned about Gusto's contribution and overall display, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his annoyance over the previous 48-hour period within the club.
"How the players want to develop has been fantastic and this is the reason why I praise them - because with numerous problems, they are performing admirably after a complicated week," he said.
"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the toughest because many people failed to back us."
Pressed on the specifics, the former Leicester City boss elaborated: "Worst 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."
When asked if he was referring to people internally at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. Overall," before specifying when asked if it was directed towards fans or the media: "I love the fans and we are extremely pleased with the fans."
Injury and Disciplinary Woes
Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's ongoing injury and disciplinary problems, remarking they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the season, as well as being deprived of linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-game ban and striker Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.
"I truly praise the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them minus Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them minus Liam Delap," he explained.
"And this squad, regardless of who is playing, they are performing fantastic. Today was 5 games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer available, we said many times that he's our top player but we play almost all season minus our top player.
"We play 5 games in the Premier League without Moises Caicedo. This is the reason why I'm so happy for the players and it's something that I would want people externally to appreciate because the effort from the players is outstanding."
Chelsea's success over Everton cemented their position in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come next week.
Speculation Over Maresca's Remark
It was unclear who or what caused Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the most difficult of his spell as Chelsea head coach.
In that window, the coach had traveled back with his backroom team and players from Bergamo, held a session at Cobham, faced a pre-match press briefing where he seemed at ease, and engineered a victory over an in-form Everton side.
It was not obvious whether any particular press stories had irked him, if online comments played a role, or if it was something deeper from within the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca only sought to rule out that it was an matter related to the club's supporters, a section of which have not yet fully embrace him since his appointment from Leicester during July last year.
