Maresca on Champions League hopes and Forest test (Full Presser)

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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

Transcript

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.

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