Enzo Maresca has enjoyed a strong first season at Chelsea, but the Italian has been warned that his standing could be called into question if he fails to win a trophy this season.
Chelsea icon Joe Cole believes Enzo Maresca could soon come under pressure from the Blues’ owner if he fails to challenge for the title this season. The former Manchester City coach only arrived at Stamford Bridge last summer and enjoyed a productive debut campaign.
He won the Conference League title, secured a top-four spot and also won the Club World Cup. But Cole believes that may not be enough for the club’s owners this season.
In an interview with Paddy Power, he said: “It’s the fourth season under this ownership. It’s a new trophy, but there are two trophies that don’t carry the same weight as the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League or even the League Cup.”
“But they brought us trophies and restructured the whole club financially. Chelsea have comfortably secured a place in the Champions League this season and should be expected to challenge for the league.”
“I don’t think this team is strong enough to compete with Arsenal. I’m happy to be able to put on record that we won’t be able to win the league at the current rate.”
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“For this season to be considered a success, Chelsea need to be comfortable in the Champions League and closer to the top of the league than last year. And next season they have to win a big trophy, because this project will be in its fifth season.
“We have to go with the owners. This is the way they are, this is the restructuring of the club. Like it or not, this is the way the club is.”
“I try to read between the lines and explain with the best knowledge of how football clubs work, because obviously the owners can’t come out and say, ‘Listen, we’re not going to go gung-ho and try to win big trophies like we used to, because we have to fit into the financial model.’
“They wouldn’t say that, because that’s not a good soundbite. As far as I understand that’s what they had to do and the club wasn’t in a good position financially so they had to be a little bit smarter about how they operated.”
What did Chelsea do to start this season? Share your thoughts in the comments section below
Chelsea have had a rocky start to the season so far. The Blues have won four of their opening nine games, leaving them ninth in the table heading into this weekend’s clash with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
However, they managed to reach the quarter-finals of the League Cup and made a good start to their Champions League campaign.
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