Chelsea boss Maresca on too many fixtures, injury concerns and West Ham (Full Presser)

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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on too many fixtures, injury concerns and West Ham challenge Cobham, London, UK

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00:00Good afternoon, everyone. If you'd like to ask a question, please raise your hand. We'll

00:24look to get through as many as possible. Michael, we'll start with you, Sky.

00:35Enzo is back, Keenan is back and Rhys is still out.

00:39Rhys is still out. Has there been a delay? And if so, it's a tough one, isn't it? How

00:45will the club manage this with Rhys?

00:48Waiting that he's fit. Waiting that he's fit is injury. It's a bit of a delay, but the

00:56most important thing for him, but for any injury, is that they are back or they come

01:02back when they are 100 per cent fit and Rhys is still out.

01:08Nice rare week off, training but no match for you, which is mainly good ahead of a very

01:14busy season. Jadon Sancho, in previous clubs there have been times where people have questioned

01:19his work ethic, but we hear you're so pleased with what you've seen of Jadon so far in your

01:24training sessions.

01:25Yes, absolutely. I said last week, since he arrived here, he's working hard, he's working

01:30good, on the ball and off the ball. We use the international break to focus a little

01:38bit more on him, so yes, he's doing well.

01:42This week, a number of players ahead of their Champions League matches are unhappy with

01:46the new European format, the matches, too many matches. One player even suggested potentially

01:51going on strike in future. You have a big season ahead, obviously Cole Palmer not in

01:56your Conference League squad. Do you feel you have a duty of care to look after your

02:02players, because of course you've got so many games coming up?

02:07Yes, I said the reason why Cole, Wes and Romelu are out of the squad in Conference

02:14is just to protect them a little bit. For Wes and Romelu it's a bit different because

02:19they came from a long injury from last year. For Cole it's a mix in terms of also it's

02:27been a very tough season for him, in terms of intense season last year. We try just to

02:33protect him and as I said already the last time, the reason why is just for that.

02:39It looks like a good battle between Christopher Nkuku and Nicholas Jackson for that striker

02:48spot. We saw that at Bournemouth last week. Does that excite you with the next few weeks

02:52ahead between the two?

02:55We used Christo as a nine in the last game for the last ten minutes. It's completely

03:02different to Nicholas in terms of quality skills, they are completely different. Niko

03:07is a number nine, Christo is not a real number nine. We can use him as a nine but in a different

03:15way. I said I'm completely happy with the squad we have, not only with Christo and Nicholas,

03:21with the amount of players that we have, especially because they are versatile. We can use Christo

03:27as a nine, Christo in the pocket. He didn't like to play wide, he preferred to be inside,

03:33more in the central pitch, we know that. But sometimes also in terms of balance or in terms

03:38of finding a balance for all of them, sometimes they have to play in positions that are not

03:47the best ones for them. Like Christo played against City in the first game of the season

03:51in wide area as a winger, but the important thing is that they adapt and they try to give

03:57their best.

04:00If I can take you back to the idea of how many matches the players play, do you think

04:07they are playing too many games?

04:10Yes, no doubt.

04:13What solution would you come up with? Players are paying enormous amounts of money to play

04:19football matches and entertain everybody, yet we're being told the more they play, the

04:23less likely they are to be able to perform properly and entertain. Where is the happy

04:28balance?

04:29No, I think in terms of games it's too much. I don't think we protect players, but the

04:38only ones that they can do something are the players. Because we can say what we think,

04:43that for me is completely wrong with the amount of games that we have. But the only ones that

04:50they can do something are the players and we can help them. I think in the last week,

04:56in the last two weeks, some of the players, they try to explain or to say what they think

05:00and I think it's a good starting point.

05:03What guy on strike?

05:04What guy on strike?

05:06Some of them, they said that. It could be an idea for them.

05:12If I was one of your players and I said, listen, I'm playing too many games, can you leave

05:15me out of the League Cup or the FA Cup, how would you view that?

05:19This is not going to happen. It's not going to happen. Not here, not them. Because at

05:25the end, since they were very young, they train and they work and the dream was to be

05:31a football player. They are not going to say, no, I don't want to play. This is not

05:35going to happen, never. It can happen something different, but all the players, at the end,

05:40they want to play the games.

05:43Everybody wants to play tomorrow. London derby against West Ham. Another big game for Chelsea

05:48and a quiet week. No headlines, no controversies. This must be great for you.

05:56It's been great also the previous one, to be honest. I told you already many times that

06:02I try to live every day or every week in the same way. Just focus on the things that I

06:08can control. This week, for me, was not different from the previous one. It was exactly the

06:13same because my focus was just on the training session and the games.

06:19Just going back to the potential of players going on strike, would you back them to do

06:25that if it came to that?

06:27The only thing I can say is that, for me, there are too many games. This is the only

06:30thing I can say.

06:32On Luis James, do you have an idea when he's going to come back? And is there a concern

06:37because his injury record is terrible?

06:41Unfortunately, we don't have an idea at the moment. In terms of injury in the past, we

06:48always hope that we can find the right solution. In this case, it has been very unlucky because

06:56we planned to change him after 65 minutes and he got injured after 62-63 so he was also

07:03a bit unlucky. But hopefully we can have him back as soon as possible and fit.

07:11Is he fit for tomorrow?

07:14I don't know, he's not fit. He's still out.

07:17With the squad you've now assembled, are you confident? Is this squad good enough to challenge

07:23and get in the top four this season?

07:25I said already, since I met the first time the owners and the Sport Director, they never

07:31mentioned me to finish top four and the target was top four.

07:34Do you think the squad is good enough to finish top four?

07:36I think this is a good squad but I also said that if the last two years we finished 12th

07:42and we finished sixth, to improve it's not something automatic. You need progress.

07:52I think the squad is good but the only way to reach some important target like top four

08:00is just to try to be focused on game after game. Otherwise, if you think about April

08:05and May, it's too far.

08:09We've seen Sampdoria's impact in a short period, you've got a few options on the left.

08:14We've seen Neto play very impressive on the right at Wolves. Is that an option for you

08:19to put him alongside Noni?

08:21Hopefully I can clarify. As a left winger we have Jadon and Mischa. As a right winger

08:29we have Noni and Pedro. As an attacking midfielder we have Joao and Cole.

08:36As a number nine we have Nicolas and Christo. There are not so many players.

08:41We have two players in each position. Now Christo can play as a nine, can play

08:46attacking midfielder and can play winger. Yes. I don't know.

08:52Kylian Dibruyol can play pocket and can play wide. Yes.

08:59Pedro was playing like a left winger because Jadon was not here, was not fit and Mischa

09:05between him and Jadon and Pedro, I prefer Pedro for that game. That means that I will prefer

09:11always Pedro. But in terms of position we have Mischa and Jadon, Pedro and Noni

09:18in the right side. Then we have Cole, Joao, Christo and Nico in front.

09:22So the squad is quite clear in terms of position. All of them they have position

09:29and we have two players in each position. Now because they are versatile and they are good

09:35and they can play in different positions, for sure we can move them.

09:39Like I said Christo played the first game against City as a winger.

09:44Well Cobham is one of the best academies in the world. We've got Josh Atianpour,

09:49he's a right back, incredible right back. You've had some issues in the right back area.

09:53Is he actually ready to get minutes? Is he ready to be involved in the squad?

09:58Josh, I really like Josh. For me potentially he can be top player,

10:06top defender for the future. Now with young players I have quite experience

10:12and I like to modify them a little bit because today for young players

10:21they can change very quick. They can think that they are so good or so bad.

10:28So I think you need to moderate a little bit the way they join us.

10:36We've seen Madrid progress over his time at Chelsea, the more minutes he gets.

10:41But how do you as a manager continue to develop the young players you have

10:45in a period when they get less minutes or they're not playing as much?

10:48Training session. Training session is the only way to improve players.

10:53We try to improve all of them every day with some of them doing some extra session at the end.

10:59Mischa is one of them. But as I said before, in this moment he's not playing

11:04that means he's not going to play in the future. Absolutely.

11:08We've got time for two more. We'll go Rob and then finish with Simon.

11:13What do you make of what Nicholas Jackson has done this season?

11:17Because he was probably used a lot more last season than was planned

11:22when he was brought in because of all the injuries.

11:24But you've got more options than your predecessor had.

11:28Sorry, I forgot to mention Marc Guglio before AC9.

11:32We have Nicholas, Marc and Cristo.

11:35So you've got options then in a way that maybe the team didn't have last season

11:40but Jackson is still your first choice even though you've got concrete backing.

11:47What do you make of what you've seen Jackson do?

11:50Because he's doing very good. Day by day in the training session

11:55and then in the Premier League game I think City was very good.

12:00Second game, Wolves away, he scored and he gave also some assist.

12:07Again, Palace, until the end he was fighting.

12:10Bournemouth again, he did well, he had two or three chances, he missed.

12:14But sometimes when you miss a chance it doesn't mean that you are not playing well.

12:18So for me in this moment Nicholas is our striker.

12:22I don't have any doubt because the way he's working day by day

12:27and the way he's working on the ball and off the ball during the official game.

12:32When he and Umkhunki came in at more or less the same time,

12:36it seemed like Umkhunki was the established player that was coming in

12:39and Jackson was the young kid who had a lot to learn.

12:43It almost feels like their status in the squad has been reversed this season.

12:49Is that how you see it?

12:51No, the only thing I can say is that Cristo last year was injured.

12:55So the reason why probably Nicholas was ahead of Cristo also for this reason.

13:00Then this season since we start, in the way we play, we start to use Nicholas.

13:05But as I said, that means that we are not going to use Mark or Cristo as a nine.

13:12It depends on the games.

13:13In this moment, Nicholas, we are very happy with him and he's doing very well.

13:17And also I think in terms of numbers, last year and this season it's already on important numbers.

13:25We'll finish with Simon.

13:28Last season Chelsea broke the Premier League record for most bookings.

13:34You're now top of the table for most bookings.

13:37Fantastic.

13:40Is there a discipline problem here and what can you do to try and tell the players...

13:45No, I don't think it's a discipline problem at all.

13:48I don't think so.

13:50I think at the bottom of the game, it's kind of a game where because of the pitch,

13:58because of the game, sometimes you're required to make some fouls.

14:02So I think it's not about that.

14:06Also the day after I watched Arsenal-Tottenham, I think the first half it was 7-8 Yellow Card.

14:11So more or less the average was there.

14:15But I don't think absolutely that there is any kind of discipline.

14:19That is not good.

14:21So you don't have to speak to the players and say try and...

14:25No, no, absolutely.

14:27Also because as I said, especially after international break, especially in that kind of stadium.

14:35Then the last 70 hours, last week, we changed the team three times because Enzo was ill.

14:42Then Kylian Mbappé was ill.

14:44Then we changed again.

14:45So also in the last 72 hours it was quite busy before that game.

14:49And I think it was a normal game.

14:53And also probably some of the Yellow Card was avoidable from the referee.

14:58But they decided that way.

15:00We are set.

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