Chelsea’s Maresca on injuries, Palmer return and facing in-form Everton (Full Presser)

NicheSportMedia

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on his injury hit squad, the return of Cole Palmer and the challenge of facing and in form Everton side in the Premier League Cobham, London, UK

Transcript

00:00Okay, good afternoon and thank you for joining us.

00:20We will take the usual format today and begin with a broadcast section.

00:25James Funderan, Sky Sports News.

00:27There you go, James.

00:27Enzo, good to see you.

00:29Is Colt Palma on track to start tomorrow, having missed the match in midweek?

00:33Yeah, it's okay.

00:37It's better.

00:39It's at the moment available.

00:41We have one more session this afternoon.

00:44Yesterday, he finished the session with us, with a mixed feeling.

00:50But overall, it's okay.

00:52Wesley Funderan picked up that freak eye injury in midweek.

00:56How's he doing?

00:57He's available.

00:58He's fine.

00:59He took part of the session yesterday and he's completely fine.

01:04And Leon Delap can't catch a break at the moment with his injury.

01:08How long does it look like he may be out for?

01:12We don't know yet.

01:13It can be still two, three, four weeks.

01:18We don't know exactly how many days he needs.

01:21You've just been named Premier League Manager of the Month for November.

01:24There were some really impressive performances in there.

01:27We are in December now.

01:30How has December gone so far for you?

01:34Yeah, I think, again, this kind of thing is because you do the right things in terms of performance and results.

01:42That, for us, November was fantastic.

01:45December, we didn't start in the way we would like.

01:48Even if, you know, it's just one week ago we played Leeds.

01:53Eight days ago we played Leeds.

01:55So it's just three games in a row in one week that we didn't get the results that we expect.

02:02But now focus on the next one.

02:04Why do you think you haven't been able to build on the momentum of that brilliant victory against Barcelona

02:09and such a strong showing against Arsenal as well?

02:12For me personally, because it's football.

02:14For me it's completely normal.

02:16Again, I understand that most of the time we are always looking for problems

02:23or things that we need to solve.

02:26But again, Leeds' game was last Wednesday.

02:29It's eight, nine days ago.

02:31And now in eight, nine days ago we are not going to change our season

02:35because we didn't get the points that we expect, for sure.

02:39But I'm completely relaxed.

02:40I'm completely okay because I'm sure that at the end of the season we're going to be where we ought to be.

02:46The reason why we draw points, again, because it's football.

02:50Bournemouth away we drew.

02:53Leeds away was a bad day for us, for all of us.

02:57Atalanta game, again, it's a game that, for me, we were in the game.

03:04We were winning.

03:05We were okay.

03:06And we conceded.

03:07If you review the first goal, they had one player inside the box and we have seven players.

03:12So we have seven against one and we conceded the goal.

03:15So big mistake and other things that we need to improve.

03:19Just how significant is tomorrow's match when you consider just how tight the table is right now?

03:24I think there's seven points between fourth and fourteenth.

03:28That's important.

03:29Yeah, for sure it's important.

03:30But all the games, they're important.

03:32I think Bournemouth was important.

03:35The next one, we have Cardiff and then Newcastle.

03:40They are all important.

03:41So if we are able to beat Everton tomorrow, it's much better for us.

03:46Otherwise, we continue to try and to see how we can do better.

03:50And finally for me, you'll come up against Keenan Dewsbury Hall tomorrow, a player you know so well.

03:55You're smiling now.

03:56Just how pleased have you been to see the impact that he's had in Everton's shirt?

04:00Clearly, you won't want him to have that impact tomorrow.

04:02But we've been proud of the way he's bounced back from what was clearly a challenging time here.

04:07I didn't have any doubt about Keenan.

04:11I know that the more he is going to play, he's going to be better.

04:16But again, with us, he was good.

04:19All season, working hard.

04:22The time that he played, he was doing well.

04:25But here we have also more players, so the competition was a big competition for him.

04:30And no doubt at the moment that he was able to play more games, he was doing well.

04:36Thanks, James.

04:38Soraya?

04:39Last season, I remember speaking to you about, you used to do a second half tweak

04:43where you would put Cole Palmer in the left half space and Enzo Fernandes in the right half space.

04:48You said it was due to pressing and maybe giving them more space on the opposite side.

04:52That happened the other day in the game that you played.

04:55We know at this point it's good not to drop points.

04:57You need all the results that you can get.

04:59What was the reason by that?

05:00Is that still the same?

05:01Because we know Cole gets more output on the right.

05:04You mean the other day Bournemouth or Bournemouth?

05:06Bournemouth, no?

05:07Bournemouth game.

05:08Yeah, it's just, again, it's where we can use our best players, where they can be better.

05:16So the reason why I was, again, for that.

05:19Okay.

05:20And obviously in recent weeks there's players like Enzo, we know, fatigued, tired, Cucurillo

05:24as well, but they're so important to the core and how you play.

05:29And maybe when they're tired they don't reflect their usual standards, which is normal in football.

05:34In situations like matches when you had your subs against Atalanta and you have players like Hato and Santos,

05:40how hard is it for you to balance that decision, whether to start them or actually use them in those natural positions?

05:45Because obviously when you lose a game people look at those decisions extra hard.

05:50Do you think you should have played them or you should play them more going forward?

05:54No, I said already many times, they work every day to play games.

06:01Now Atalanta game, Enzo, Marc, as you said, they are playing many games.

06:08It's normal that the level cannot be always the same, but I don't have a doubt that Andre is going to have his chance.

06:16Jarell exactly the same and hopefully tomorrow or soon we can give them some chances.

06:23The atmosphere at the last few games at Stamford Bridge have been incredible.

06:27Everton next, they've been performing extremely well, they're seventh on the table.

06:31It always feels that when Stamford Bridge has that full support, it's a fortress, it's even harder to win there.

06:36There's been a patch of inconsistent results, but personally how much does it help you and the squad

06:41if they were to walk out tomorrow and it was bouncing like an Arsenal, like a Barcelona?

06:45Yeah, absolutely. It's a nice feeling.

06:49For sure we have to do something also to help them from the beginning to be with us.

06:55But no doubt that tomorrow they're going to be with us since the whistle.

07:01Thanks, Soraya. Nizar?

07:03Hi, Enzo. I just wanted to talk about your manager of the month in November,

07:07but December is obviously more tricky.

07:09Is the next step for this team to go from going on runs and then having a bad run and then another run?

07:15Is the next step to try and be consistent?

07:17What are the ingredients you need to get to that level?

07:20Yeah, it's the next step for us. I think during the season the teams that are more consistent,

07:30at the end they are the teams that are going to be there. Would we need to avoid that?

07:36Probably, with what happened last year, now again it's just one week, it's not a long time.

07:45But for sure when something happens, the next one you are more ready, more prepared and you can avoid that.

07:51Because it kind of happened throughout your time as Chelsea manager, but it also happened before,

07:56so is this something that you're building from scratch, like this consistency with the players,

08:01getting them to understand what it takes to every day be at the very highest level?

08:05Yeah, knowing again that in terms of human beings it's impossible to be all season at the same level.

08:13But for sure, probably we need to learn things and to avoid that in the future.

08:22Thanks, Nizar. Simon?

08:24In terms of positives, was Josh Antipole one of the positives you did take away from the Atalanta game?

08:32Absolutely, yes. And the good thing about Josh is that in the moment that we give him the chance,

08:37it's always doing well. And this is the reason why I said many times that

08:42for him he is going to be a big player for this club. It just matters to be patient, wait the right moment,

08:50and also in the moment that you continue to perform in the way he's doing,

08:55probably he's going to have more chances, chances, chances, chances.

08:58Was there anything that you saw in him, the gap between starts from Sunderland to Atalanta,

09:05why he wasn't selected very much?

09:08Because in this moment, also with Trev and Wes, we had like four, five, six games,

09:15like with clean sheet, clean sheet, clean sheet, so sometimes you are also looking for stability.

09:21You know, so this is the reason why. But again, when you know that you have a player,

09:27that when you need him, it's always ready to perform, it's so important.

09:31So Josh has to continue to do what he's doing.

09:34Thanks, Simon. Rob?

09:36How has Liam piped mentally with the injuries?

09:41He's obviously come to a big club where a lot was expected,

09:45and through no fault of his own, it's not quite happened yet.

09:48What has he done to help particularly a young player through something like this?

09:53Liam, in general, is good. He knows that probably he has been a little bit unlucky,

09:58but overall he's good. Now for him, the focus is to recover.

10:02He's inside the building every day to try to recover.

10:07He's with his teammates for breakfast, lunch, he's with us.

10:12So it's just a matter of now time and being back.

10:16Okay. Thanks very much. Cameras off, please.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended