The Boss Maresca Calls Lead-Up Period as His 'Most Difficult Two Days' with the Club

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca revealed that the run-up to Saturday's triumph against Everton was "the toughest 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.

The 44-year-old delivered a somewhat cryptic statement in his post-match interview even after securing a 2-0 win at home thanks to finishes from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Those three precious points sent Chelsea back into the English top flight's top four, potentially lightening the atmosphere following a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had extended the team's winless run to four fixtures.

However, when asked about Gusto's assist and overall performance, Maresca surprisingly disclosed his displeasure over the preceding two days within the club.

"How the players want to improve has been superb and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with a host of issues, they are performing admirably after a difficult week," he stated.

"Since I joined the club, the past 48 hours have been the most difficult because several people failed to back us."

Pressed on his meaning, the former Leicester City manager continued: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."

When asked if he meant people internally at Chelsea, he answered: "In general. In general," before specifying when queried if it was aimed at fans or the press: "I adore the fans and we are very pleased with the fans."

Fitness and Suspension Crisis

Maresca also drew attention to Chelsea's ongoing injury and disciplinary problems, remarking they had been missing key forward Cole Palmer for a large portion of the campaign, as well as being deprived of linchpin Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to a couple of serious injuries.

"I truly praise 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 minus Liam Delap," he explained.

"And this squad, regardless of who is on the pitch, they are doing fantastic. Today was 5 games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer there, we said many times that he's our best player but we play the vast majority of the season without our top player.

"We play five games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to appreciate because the commitment from the players is outstanding."

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

Speculation Over Maresca's Remark

It was ambiguous what exactly caused Maresca to label the previous 48 hours as the worst of his spell as Chelsea manager.

In that window, the coach had traveled back with his staff and players from Bergamo, conducted a training session at Cobham, faced a pre-game news conference where he seemed at ease, and secured a victory over an high-flying Everton team.

It was unclear whether any particular press stories had irked him, if social media comments were a factor, 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 involving the club's supporters, some of whom have still have yet to fully warm to him since his arrival from Leicester during July last year.