Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on their hopes of making the UEFA Champions League and a tough test against fellow European contenders Nottingham Forest
Cobham, London, UK
Cobham, London, UK
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, what's up, could you not sleep?
00:14If you don't have any fun.
00:30Right, good morning, we shall take the usual format today and we will begin with Gary Cottrell
00:41and Sky Sports News.
00:46He's working with us in the last days, him and Marguiou, both can be available for the
01:04next game, knowing that no one of them played some minutes from the injury.
01:11So by the next game you mean Forrest?
01:13Yeah.
01:14They can be available, yeah.
01:17In exchange, probably just normal, we saw him over training on Tuesday doing his own session,
01:24is he OK?
01:25No, yeah, he's OK.
01:27Simply he has his own planned programme, because we said already that we try to protect him,
01:37so we are managing him also in the training session.
01:42So this is a massive game, five clubs on Sunday, have you ever known a finish to a campaign
01:52like it in terms of what's at stake?
01:57Probably also show how difficult it is, you know, the Premier League, so many teams involved.
02:04The one that they have been consistent has been Liverpool and this is the reason why they
02:09won the Premier.
02:10I think all the rest we had during the season, a little bit up and down moment and this is
02:15the reason why we are there, but we are happy to be there and try to finish in the best way.
02:22Will you be able to, I mean the crowd will tell you, I'm sure, but will you have a way of
02:27listening to what's happening in the other matches?
02:30Because obviously results elsewhere might be a factor, or will you just concentrate on getting
02:34the win that you need?
02:36We are quite lucky in this aspect, because if we win we do our job, we don't need to pay
02:43attention to the other results.
02:45For sure if we are not winning, probably we need to pay attention, but we have the privilege
02:51that we depend on, depends on us.
02:56Do you sense a confidence that you can go there and do the job?
02:59Yeah, absolutely, no doubt.
03:02Callum Hudson-Odoi obviously on a Chelsea loan, how ironic would it be, and it has nothing
03:07to do with you before your time that you left, how ironic would it be if he was a factor
03:12in you not making it into the Champions League?
03:17Yeah, in this moment it's Forest player, so he's playing for them, and I have no doubt
03:23that he's going to try his best with his team, but we need to be focused on our squad,
03:31our players and our game.
03:34Final one from me, looking forward to the dreaded transfer window, which starts a little bit
03:40earlier this season.
03:43Some reports suggest Enzo Fernandes has been in Madrid looking at houses, I know he hasn't
03:47because he's been here, but how important is he to Chelsea and how important is he that
03:52we keep him here?
03:53Is there a contract that suggests where Madrid might be interested?
03:57Yeah, Enzo is a main player for us, he's one of the captain, he's one of the leaders.
04:03This season has been very, very good, he can be even better next season, starting from the first day.
04:09So nothing to say about speculation, he's focused on us, and this is the most important thing.
04:18He's staying, right?
04:19Yes.
04:20May, may.
04:22So you've got a busy few days coming up, do you feel any pressure?
04:35I'm sure you're not staying up late at night thinking about how to get that Champions League spot, or are you?
04:37Any pressure?
04:39When you join Chelsea you feel the pressure since day one.
04:42You don't need to play this kind of game to feel more pressure or less pressure.
04:47I feel pressure since I joined the club, because it's a club that you need to win games.
04:54We won many games this season, but probably we need one more, the most important one.
05:02And how do you go about, you've got an important game this weekend and a few days later as well, the Conference League final.
05:07How do you go about deciding maybe rotating key players for both matches?
05:13Now the focus is Sunday game, that is the next one is the most important one.
05:19And then after that we can be focused on Wednesday game.
05:23For sure, I said already the other day, we don't have time enough to recover the energy.
05:30So for sure we need to rotate and we need to change things.
05:34And the reason why is because from Sunday to Wednesday there is no time enough to recover the energy.
05:43Or at least if we were both in the same situation, us and Betis, it was quite different.
05:49But because they play today, so they have two days more.
05:55So we need to make some changes.
05:58What's the atmosphere been like this week with the players? Are they feeling any pressure?
06:04How are you seeing the players?
06:06No, they are, to be honest, I can see them exactly in the same way they were almost all season.
06:13They know that they are aware that this is the game, it's an important game, it's the last one,
06:19it's the most important one because if we are able to finish well, it's a good thing for players, for fans,
06:25for club, for us as a coaching staff, for everyone.
06:28Do you find a chance to give any motivational words to the players,
06:32to get them with that mental strength to prepare them for both matches?
06:36No, I think we need to prepare them for the next one, not for both.
06:41I think we need to prepare them for the next one.
06:44In terms of motivation, we also try almost every game to give them some extra motivation
06:50because it's something that is part of the game.
06:55Thanks, Mimi.
06:57John?
06:58Over the last few months there has been a massive difference between your home form and your away form.
07:04Can you try and explain why there has been such a difference?
07:09It's something for sure that probably during the summer or during the short break we have,
07:20it's something that we have to analyse.
07:23I also said many times that I like to analyse game by game.
07:28I think we played some games away where we didn't deserve to lose or even the draw,
07:34I don't know, Palace away I think we were much, much better and we deserved to win the game.
07:39But for sure if we struggle away there is a reason why and we're going to use the break to understand the reason why.
07:48On the other side at home we won almost all the games,
07:52so also there is a good part, not only the bad part.
07:58Is there a mental issue there, do you think?
08:01I don't think so, I don't think so.
08:05I don't think it's a mental problem, but for sure there is something that we need to improve, no doubt.
08:10Because on Sunday the attitude and mentally they've got to be absolutely spot on,
08:15so it's going to be pretty lively in the City game.
08:18Yeah, no doubt.
08:19But even the last game away, I think the last game was Newcastle away.
08:23I think they showed resilience, they showed effort.
08:26Overall I think we didn't deserve to lose that game, even with ten players.
08:32But at the end we lost the game.
08:35So I don't think it's mental, to be honest.
08:39Just a question on the England squad you were asked at 10 o'clock this morning.
08:43Is there a concern from you for your players who can be picked in that squad,
08:47given you've got the Club World Cup coming up?
08:49Have you spoken to anybody with Thomas Tuchel just to see how he plans to use your players there?
08:55I didn't speak with one of them.
09:00The only thing I can say, and I've said already many times,
09:03that as much as the players we have in the international team,
09:08we are happy because that is something good, first of all for the players,
09:11because they represent the country and it's nice, and for the club also.
09:16But I think the last game was on the 10th, but obviously you're in the game for the 15th,
09:20around that kind of time.
09:22So will you be asking maybe that they can be released early?
09:26From the 10th to 15th we have five days.
09:30The problem is that we have a game Sunday and Wednesday,
09:33European competition final.
09:35No-one is scared about that.
09:37But no-one cares about player welfare.
09:58How do you manage that?
10:01Nothing.
10:02If they're going to be tired, they're not going to play.
10:04How do you manage that?
10:06It's simply like that.
10:07But I don't think there is many attention about player selfie or these kind of things,
10:12otherwise it's not normal the amount of games that they played.
10:17Simon.
10:18So was it the case that the club could even remotely talk to international coaches
10:25and say would you mind leaving them out on this occasion?
10:28Was it something you thought we were doing?
10:31No, from my point of view.
10:36It's obviously going to be an added challenge for these players to sort of think that they've
10:43got to play with these games in a short period of time.
10:46Yeah, but that's why I said that for me it's not normal and it's not correct.
10:51And I can understand that people think, yeah, but they earn much money, lots of money.
10:56But it's not about money, it's about health, it's about to protect the players.
11:02And my feeling is because of the amount of games that they played, I don't think they pay attention on that.
11:10And I know you've just focused on these two games and this season, but is there any concern for the start of next season
11:19that all your players should play this amount of football before the next season's even started?
11:26I'm not thinking about the next season, I'm thinking about the next two games.
11:30But for sure there is a chance where we have players that because of the amount of the games
11:36they can get injured or they can be tired and then we see how we need to behave.
11:45Rob.
11:46Going back to Sunday, is the biggest risk to your team that Forest might feel like they've got nothing to lose,
11:55given that they've already overachieved so much this season?
11:59The pressure could be off them a little bit, whereas for Chelsea, everything hinged on them.
12:06What was expected at the start of the season?
12:10At this stage of the season I think the pressure is for all the clubs that we are involved.
12:14I think it's also for them.
12:18If they don't feel the pressure, it's not something that I'm worried about.
12:24I'm just worried about our team, how we can win the game, no more than that.
12:29Do you fear that the expectation weighs that bit more heavily on Chelsea's players than it would on Forest?
12:36Probably, yes.
12:39OK, thank you.
12:42Cameras off, please.
12:46What was the question?
12:49Thanks David.
12:50There was a question.
12:51We need some questions at the moment.
12:53plötzlich was on ailoqu ranges from the top to the top.
12:55We need some questions.
12:56We need some questions at the top.
12:57This is really good for us to learn.
12:58I'm just wondering.
12:59I'm just wondering if I don't know if we want to get started.