Enzo Maresca on Chelsea's recent good form and trip to Tottenham
06/12/2024
Cobham Training centre, Surrey, UK
06/12/2024
Cobham Training centre, Surrey, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Okay, good afternoon, we'll take the usual format today
00:29and start with Sky Sports News and Jeremy Langdon.
00:32Are there any fresh injury or illness worries after Southampton and how are the rehabs of
00:40Farna and Rhys James going?
00:41Yeah, both, they are slowly getting better but as we said the other day, it's a matter
00:48of weeks, so they are still far and the only one that is still ill is Misha Mudrik and
00:55the rest, they are all okay.
00:57Tottenham on Sunday, you were back in the top two of the Premier League for the first
01:01time in a few years, the fans are singing your name, they're singing we've got our Chelsea
01:05back and they're excited, why aren't Chelsea in the title race?
01:11I said we are very happy for the fans, absolutely because they deserve to live this moment,
01:22they can dream, we are very happy and as I said, we work every day also to make them
01:30happy and proud of the players and then for the rest, nothing to add, I said many times,
01:36I don't think we are there and we are ready to compete with Arsenal, Liverpool and City.
01:45You're also the top scorers in the Premier League, 31 goals so far, no-one has scored
01:52that many, so surely you must have a chance with those goals you're scoring?
01:58Yeah, but also you have to do many more things good, not only score goals, you also have
02:05to avoid conceding goals, but overall I think also defensively we are doing quite well,
02:14but I said we are just focused on Sunday game and then the next one, we are not thinking
02:20about April, May, June, these kind of things because it's too early and in football everything
02:28can change very quick, so the focus is just on Sunday game and today's session and tomorrow's
02:35session, these are the only things I'm worried and concerned about.
02:39So it's too early to think about the Club World Cup that Chelsea have been drawn in,
02:43what are your thoughts about that generally, are you concerned about the issue of player
02:47welfare, have you got any concern at all about that right now?
02:51No, I said, not only me, many times we said that there are so many games, it's difficult,
02:57but we'll see when we are close to May, June, July, how we arrive and then from there we
03:04prepare our competition.
03:05Just on Sunday, what about Spurs, obviously they were beaten at Bournemouth last night
03:09and Ange got a load of stick from some of the fans at the end of the game, what did
03:13you make of that, was that unfair?
03:16I think it's nothing new, in terms of, we depend on the results of the situation, then
03:24it's fair or unfair, it's our job.
03:27And also, Tottenham are running out of centre-backs, Ben Davies played last night, he's got a scan
03:33today, Romero may not be fit, do you think with their lack of fit defenders, you know,
03:38Paul Palmer and Jackson can exploit this on Sunday?
03:44We try always to exploit, no matter the other team or the defenders that are there, for
03:51sure I think Romero can be back, so probably Romero can be the solution for them in this
03:59moment, but we'll see.
04:02You had some things to say about Maduweke at Southampton, about training harder, showing
04:07more ambition, we saw him training this morning, is he taking that on board?
04:11Yeah, absolutely, no, but Noni, I said, overall he's working well since we started, but
04:22sometimes he drops a little bit, and he's not allowed to drop, but in terms of numbers,
04:31he's doing fantastic, goal, assist, off the ball when we ask him to defend and to press,
04:40he's doing very well.
04:41The only reason I said this the other day is because I want the best for Noni, and probably
04:46the only way to get the best from him is to push him every time, and in the moment that
04:50he relaxes a little bit, he's wrong.
04:53Just finally, you were able to change seven members of the team to Southampton, unusual
04:58for a Premier League game, how much of a good thing was that before this big match at Tottenham?
05:04Since we started we try to share minutes and to change players, we did exactly the same
05:10thing against Southampton, for sure when you change seven in the Premier League it can
05:14be a big number, but they all deserve minutes, and the good thing is that no matter how many
05:24players we change, you can see the identity of the team and the team doing the right things,
05:29so this is the best thing.
05:34Just going back to Noni, he said after your comments, he said you're not necessarily a
05:38coach that's trying to be best friends with everybody, but you're straight and fair,
05:42which is all you can ask for.
05:43Is that a fair assessment of your coaching style?
05:46No, I try to be, not friend, but I try to be close to the players, but sometimes even
05:54when you want to be friends, between friends, when you say something wrong to your friend,
05:59sometimes he's not happy, but he has to know that what you say is because you want to take
06:06care of him, and again, the only reason I said this about Noni is because I want the
06:11best for him.
06:12How hard are the balances after a strike, you want to keep the players happy, you don't
06:17want to be a close friend with them, but you've also got a big squad and you need to try and
06:23keep them all happy, and that's impossible, isn't it?
06:28I try to be quite, I said many times, the way I like to have a relation with the players
06:33is to be quite close.
06:36You also can see a little bit, in the past I was at Leicester, I have a fantastic relation
06:40with the players, I love them, this is the way I like to have a relation with the players,
06:49and the same thing I'm trying to do here.
06:52The problem is when you say something that they don't like, they think that you don't
06:55want to be close, but it's a way to be close and to show them that I take care of them.
07:01While also showing your boss that you're in charge.
07:05No, but it's not for this, the target is not for this.
07:08The same thing I think happened with Rhys when I talked to him about leadership, it
07:12was not because I want the best for Rhys, I want him to improve.
07:16For Nonny it's exactly the same, nothing different.
07:19Just a question on your goalkeepers, I mean you said that Sanchez is going to start on
07:23Sunday, is he still very much your number one or is it a harder decision now?
07:29No, no, it's Robert number one.
07:32Just one on Tottenham, what have you made of them this season?
07:35It seems that one week they can be great, the next it's a different Tottenham side,
07:40and they seem unpredictable.
07:43They are, first of all, very good players, very good manager.
07:49They play, it's very clear what they want, what they want to do on the ball and off the
07:53ball, and then what kind of problems they have, I don't know, you have to be there to
07:59understand what kind of problems.
08:01But they are a fantastic team and you see also the results, two weeks ago they beat
08:07City 4-0, so they are a very good team.
08:11And the way you play tonight, should he come to you on Sunday?
08:16Hopefully for us.
08:18Soraya.
08:19Hi, in Enzo's last five Chelsea games he has six assists, two goals, the most assists
08:25at Chelsea, how much in your eyes has he progressed in learning that Gundogan-Rhys
08:30role, and is there any way you still want him to improve on?
08:32No, he's improving a lot, especially in terms of understanding the game and understanding
08:38the position.
08:39Now he's in the right position, he's arriving in the box, he's always there.
08:44This is what we need from the attacking players, and for sure he has many things that he can
08:49do better, but not only Enzo, all the squad, all the players.
08:53But he's in the right way.
08:56And when Caicedo inverts from right back into midfield, it does allow all your elite midfielders
09:01to start in the line-up and still have six attacking players going forward.
09:06Is this a role we can expect Moyes to play a lot in the season?
09:11Probably Moyes full-back inside is something that was in our minds since day one, but because
09:18of the Romeo injury or because Enzo moment, we use Moyes always as the ultimate midfielder.
09:25In the last game we decided to use him as a full-back, for sure in the future we can
09:28see him again there, because on the ball we have Moyes inside next to Romeo, next to Enzo,
09:36so we are quite good.
09:38And off the ball also, he's giving us balance, so for sure could be an option.
09:43And you've got Tottenham away next.
09:45How do you personally as manager assess the team's development on a day-to-day basis?
09:50Are matches like Tottenham a really good reference point for you, or is it not like that?
09:55No, we take every game as a reference.
09:58We try to do things better every game, but our reference is just the day-by-day,
10:05the training session, that we can see clearly that the players are on board, they are happy,
10:11they are enjoying the moment, enjoying the way we want to play.
10:16And then, as I said, every game is a test for us, but it was a test the last game we
10:22played against Southampton, it was a test against Villa, it will be a test against
10:26Tottenham and the next one.
10:28We just try to improve day-by-day.
10:35How is the job that you've got here different to the one that you had last season at Leicester?
10:41We hear a lot about certain jobs being too big for certain managers and we don't have
10:47the personality to make a step up, but you've taken to it rather well.
10:52What are the main differences between managing a club like Leicester and Chelsea?
10:57I took it exactly in the same way.
10:59Focus on the squad, on this player, how we can do to help him, how we can do to improve
11:04the team, no more than that.
11:06In the same way I took a Leicester job, for instance the last one, and this one is exactly
11:11in the same way.
11:12The only focus is players improve the team, no more than that.
11:19I get paid for this, to do my job with the players and with the team, no more than that.
11:23So I just focus on that and I try to give my best every day.
11:27I spend many hours to understand how can I help the player to improve and to convince
11:32them, so exactly in the same way I took a Leicester job, I took this one.
11:39Why do you think you seem to be succeeding when so many of your players have the same
11:44approach?
11:47I just try not to work hard, but to spend hours to understand how can I help the players.
11:57We just finished now the session, the last part of the session, the last half an hour
12:01was just for extra session for some group of players to try to improve them.
12:07We watch game, we review game, we see how we can improve.
12:10I have four or five assistant coaches upstairs that they spend time to see small details
12:17about position, about control with the right, control with the left, play with the right,
12:21play with the left, these kind of things.
12:23Simon?
12:25Hey Inter, I appreciate in your mind it's a long way away, but how much is the Club
12:30World Cup going to impact your pre-season?
12:34Can you afford to go on tour elsewhere or are you already deciding that's not possible?
12:39I know the group because of yesterday, but I don't know which play we start, I don't
12:44know which play we finish, no seriously, and I don't know which play we play.
12:47I don't have any idea yet because when we start in June, when we start in June, when
12:53we're going to be in May, I will start to see, okay, we play this day, this day, but
12:57now I don't know, I don't know.
12:59I know just the group and no more than that.
13:02Yeah, I get that, I'm just thinking if Chelsea get to, obviously you want to get to the final
13:07place, I think July the 13th, talking about player welfare, which I think was right...
13:123-0, 30 or 13?
13:141-3.
13:15Ah, 1-3.
13:16Yeah, yeah.
13:16Yeah, in a normal...
13:18Last year I think we started July 8th, 8th July, but for sure we have some day off in
13:26case we play the final, but I don't know.
13:30So there's sort of no decision that's been made whether you're going to have a pre-season
13:34tour like in America?
13:35No, absolutely, no, no.
13:37And just quickly on referring to the Southampton game for example, is the one criticism that
13:44you have in your mind with your players?
13:46Do you want them to become more ruthless, especially in front of goal?
13:49I know it sounds funny after scoring five goals, but they could have killed the game
13:53off a lot easier than they did.
13:54Yeah, I said I was upset the first 15-20 minutes because we were wrong in the way we were pressing.
14:03We prepared the pressing in one way and for the first 15-20, I think until the first goal
14:09or the second goal, I don't remember, that I called some of the players on the bench,
14:12we needed to change.
14:13Because Southampton, even if they are with four points, is a team that if you don't press
14:19them higher, man-to-man, and you give them one extra player, you struggle to recover
14:24the ball because they are very good on that.
14:26And we were wrong.
14:26Then we scored five, we could score more for sure, but we are very happy scoring five.
14:32And we'll finish with Dauda.
14:35You said you're not in the Dauda race, but do you think you guys are beyond your expectations?
14:41Even the Italian guy, he has to help me, he's asking for the title of best.
14:45Yeah, I'm not going to be serious with you guys, but do you think you're beyond your
14:50own expectations?
14:52For sure, for sure.
14:53I said that in terms of points and in terms of the way we want to play on the ball and
14:59off the ball, I was convinced 100% that we reached that moment, but not so early.
15:07In this moment, for sure, we can do many, many things better in both situations, attacking
15:12and defending, but we are ahead of my expectations in terms of the way the players are playing,
15:18and because of them, they are doing fantastic.
15:22But probably the reason why is because we just focus on the day-by-day and see how we
15:29can improve players.
15:31Is that the key?
15:34For me, yes.
15:35If you ask me why you fear, it's because we just focus on the day-by-day, how we can
15:40improve players and team, and no more than that.