Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has been criticized by Wayne Rooney for continuing to rotate his squad in both the Premier League and Champions League this season.
Manager Enzo Maresca has vowed to keep rotating his Chelsea squad despite Wayne Rooney warning his players that they “will not be satisfied”. Maresca’s chops and changes made headlines after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the Champions League.
The Chelsea manager made seven changes to the squad that started against Azerbaijan on Wednesday night. His ingenuity went unrewarded and the home side earned a deserved point, especially after Blues defender Jorel Hato endured a tough night.
But the injury to midfielder Romeo Lavia served as a reminder of why Maresca is so serious about his approach. Chelsea have made 85 changes so far this season, 16 more than Liverpool, while Arsenal are third among Premier League clubs with 67.
Mirror Football understands Maresca’s approach has the full backing of the club hierarchy, with the team sitting seventh in the Premier League, albeit two points off second place, ahead of their clash with bottom-of-the-table Wolves on Saturday.
read more: Wayne Rooney urges five players to deal with Enzo Maresca, Chelsea team’s concerns are eloquentread more: Enzo Maresca receives clear message from Chelsea bosses following Qarabag disappointment
Asked about Rooney’s comments in the pre-match press conference, Maresca said: “I’ve said it many times, we live in an era where anyone can say what they want. That’s right. I respect you completely, but I also said it after the game against Qarabag. Since I joined the club, it’s been my idea to rotate players, and no one complained when we didn’t win games.”
“I understand why no one objected. I don’t think it’s a rotation issue when the rotation is Andrei Santos (Brazil player), Llorel Hato (Netherlands player) and Estebao Willian (Brazilian player).”
“They’re good, they’re talented, they’re young. Certainly, when they’re young, you have to give them a chance to make some mistakes to get better. I think the same thing happened with Josh Achiampong in the past. But again, I understand that when you’re not winning games, the problem is the rotation or the defense.”
Rooney believes Chelsea’s senior players will not be happy with the rotation. He said on The Wayne Rooney Show: “The players want to play and they want to build relationships. If you keep cutting and changing, the players won’t be happy.”
“I think that’s going to hurt them. If they’re consistently getting results, you can’t question it, but if they’re not, you have to question it.
“Most clubs now have a leadership group and as a group you have to ask questions of the manager. You hear people talk about ‘player strength’, but this is not player strength. It worries me when teams keep changing. If I was in that (leadership) group, I would have told my team-mates, ‘Look, I’m not happy with this’.”
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