New Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca will apparently be given plenty of time to settle into his role. The Italian recently arrived at the club after Mauricio Pochettino was fired following the 2023/24 season. Pochettino took the Blues up to sixth in the table following a disastrous 12th-placed finish in 2022/23. Although things were looking up for the Argentine, Blues brass decided to move on ahead of the summer transfer window.
Pochettino only received a lone season at the helm, but Chelsea looks set to be more patient with Maresca. In fact, the new manager claims that ownership has informed him that a move up the table is not necessary. This means that the Blues do not need to qualify for the Champions League.
“What I can say is that nobody from the club asked me for the Champions League this year,” Maresca told reporters on Friday. “Nobody said that we need to finish in the first four. What they said is that we need to step-by-step arrive and compete.”
“If you ask me, my dream is to compete with the teams that at this moment are dominating English football. A very good target already [is] when the owner, sporting directors, the managers and players all have the same idea we are going in the same direction.”
Top English teams consider finishing outside of top four as a disaster
Chelsea not securing a place in the Premier League’s top four would typically be seen as a disaster. This is particularly the case within the last two decades. Thanks to Roman Abramovich’s previous reign as the club’s owner, the Blues became a powerhouse in English soccer.
Todd Boehly’s approach at Chelsea has been widely criticized
While Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool were the cream of the crop, Chelsea broke into this upper echelon through massive spending.
For instance, the Blues have collected five of their six English top-flight titles since 2004. They have also won…
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Author : Chris Moore
Publish date : 2024-08-17 15:00:02
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