Chelsea's Manager Maresca Calls Lead-Up Period as His 'Most Difficult 48 Hours' with the Club

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca remarked that the preparation to Saturday's victory against Everton was "the worst 48 hours" since his arrival with the London club.

The Italian offered a puzzling statement in his post-match interview despite notching a 2-0 win at home through goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those crucial points lifted Chelsea back into the Premier League's top four, potentially lightening the mood following a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the side's drought without a win to four matches.

Yet, when questioned about Gusto's assist and overall display, Maresca surprisingly shared his displeasure over the previous two days at the organization.

"The way the lads want to improve has been fantastic and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with numerous problems, they are performing admirably after a tricky week," he said.

"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the worst because several people withheld support from us."

Pressed on his meaning, the former Leicester City boss continued: "Worst 48 hours since I came to the club because people failed to back me and the team."

When asked if he meant people internally at Chelsea, he answered: "In general. Overall," before specifying when queried if it was aimed at fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are extremely content with the fans."

Fitness & Disciplinary Woes

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's ongoing fitness and suspension issues, noting they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the season, in addition to being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to two serious injuries.

"I truly commend the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them minus Moises Caicedo, eleven of them minus Cole Palmer, almost all of them without Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, regardless of who is playing, they are doing brilliantly. Today was 5 games in 12 days so certainly when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our top player but we play the vast majority of the season without our best player.

"We play five games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so delighted for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to acknowledge because the effort from the players is remarkable."

Chelsea's success over Everton cemented their standing in fourth in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup last-eight clash at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come next week.

Uncertainty Over Maresca's Comments

It was not immediately clear what exactly prompted Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea manager.

In that timeframe, the Italian had returned with his staff and players from Bergamo, conducted a session at Cobham, attended a pre-match news conference where he seemed relaxed, and secured a win over an high-flying Everton team.

It was not obvious whether any specific media reports had unsettled him, if online discourse played a role, or if it was something more significant from inside the club at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca specifically took care to deny that it was an issue related to the club's supporters, a section of which have not yet fully warm to him since his appointment from Leicester during July last year.