The Manager Enzo Maresca Calls Lead-Up Period as His 'Toughest Two Days' with the Blues

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca revealed that the run-up to the weekend's triumph against Everton represented "the most challenging 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.

The 44-year-old made a rather mysterious statement in his post-match interview despite securing a 2-0 win at home through finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points sent Chelsea back into the Premier League's top four, perhaps improving the mood after a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the team's drought without a win to four outings.

However, when questioned about Gusto's assist and general performance, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his frustration over the preceding two days within the organization.

"The way the players are eager to improve has been excellent and this is the reason why I praise them - because with a host of challenges, they are excelling after a difficult week," he said.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the last 48 hours have been the toughest because a lot of people didn't support us."

When pushed further on his meaning, the ex- Leicester City manager elaborated: "Most difficult 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When questioned if he meant people within at Chelsea, he answered: "Broadly speaking. In general," before specifying when queried if it was directed towards supporters or the press: "I love the fans and we are extremely happy with the fans."

Fitness and Suspension Crisis

Maresca also highlighted Chelsea's ongoing fitness and suspension issues, remarking they had been without star attacker Cole Palmer for a large portion of the campaign, as well as being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I really praise the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them without Cole Palmer, almost all of them minus Liam Delap," he said.

"And this squad, no matter who is on the pitch, they are performing fantastic. Today was five games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer playing, we said many times that he's our finest player but we play the vast majority of the season minus our best player.

"We play 5 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 externally to acknowledge because the work from the players is outstanding."

Chelsea's success over Everton cemented their standing in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come in the coming days.

Speculation Regarding Maresca's Remark

It was unclear what exactly prompted Maresca to describe the past 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea head coach.

In that window, the Italian had returned with his staff and players from his native Italy, conducted a training session at Cobham, attended a pre-game news conference where he appeared relaxed, and engineered a win over an high-flying Everton team.

It was not obvious whether any specific press stories had irked him, if social media comments played a role, or if it was something more significant from inside the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca only sought to rule out that it was an issue related to the club's fans, a section of which have not yet fully warm to him since his arrival from Leicester during July last year.