Chelsea's Manager Maresca Describes Lead-Up Period as His 'Worst 48 Hours' with the Club

Chelsea gaffer Enzo Maresca stated that the build-up to Saturday's win against Everton was "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure at Stamford Bridge.

The 44-year-old made a somewhat cryptic comment in his after-game press conference despite securing a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge courtesy of finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those points sent Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, perhaps lightening the mood after a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's drought without a win to four outings.

Yet, when asked about Gusto's assist and overall performance, Maresca unexpectedly divulged his displeasure over the previous 48-hour period at the organization.

"The way the squad want to learn has been excellent and this is the reason why I praise them - because with so many challenges, they are performing admirably after a tricky week," he said.

"From the moment I arrived at the club, the previous 48 hours have been the most difficult because many people didn't support us."

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

When questioned if he was referring to people within at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. In general," before specifying when queried if it was aimed at supporters or the press: "I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans."

Fitness and Suspension Crisis

Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's persistent fitness and disciplinary issues, noting they had been missing key forward Cole Palmer for much of the season, in addition to losing key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I really commend the players and the squad because we played 16 Premier League games, five of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them without Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them without Liam Delap," he said.

"And this squad, no matter who is playing, they are performing fantastic. Today was five games in 12 days so undoubtedly when you see Cole Palmer playing, we have 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 reason why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would want people externally to acknowledge because the effort from the players is outstanding."

Chelsea's win over Everton strengthened their standing in 4th place in the Premier League table, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Cardiff and a league journey to Newcastle to come in the coming days.

Uncertainty Regarding Maresca's Remark

It was not immediately clear who or what caused Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea manager.

In that window, the Italian had traveled back with his backroom team and players from his native Italy, held a training session at the training ground, attended a pre-match news conference where he appeared relaxed, and engineered a victory over an high-flying Everton team.

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

Maresca specifically took care to rule out that it was an matter involving the club's fans, a section of which have not yet fully warm to him since his appointment from Leicester during July last year.