‘Not top four’: Enzo Maresca clarifies Chelsea’s season objectives

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has clarified his objective with the London club this season noting that he’s not under pressure from the club to achieve a top-four Premier League finish.

Maresca succeeded Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea boss in the summer after a inconsistent 2023/24 Premier League campaign that saw the west Londoners finish sixth in the top flight.

However, he has been able to turn things around with Chelsea losing just three of the 14 matches across all competitions so far this season and sit fifth in the league standings with 17 points.

The Blues go toe-to-toe with Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup round of 16 on Wednesday, having beaten the Magpies in the Premier League on Sunday.

Ahead of the game, Maresca insisted he has been set no concrete objective to qualify for the Champions League.

“The club never mentioned to me about top four,” he said. “They always mentioned to me the target was to build something important for the next four or five years.

“For sure, we work every day to reach something important. Pressure on the players? I don’t think so, to be honest.

“If you go game by game, you can see yourself where you are in that moment. If you start to think about the top four or top six, you are thinking about June and – for me – it’s too far.”

Maresca was also asked about Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho, who has been an unused substitute for Chelsea in their past two matches.

On the 24-year-old, Maresca said: “Players cannot maintain the same level for the whole season because the amount of games is huge, so the last two games he didn’t play were simply down to tactical decisions.

“Jadon has been doing well since he arrived. He will play many games, and the only thing he has to do is continue to work hard and when we give him a chance, he has to take it.