Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea need time to build a team capable of challenging for top honours – and believes his Stamford Bridge paymasters agree.
Chelsea thrashed Wolves 6-2 for Maresca’s first Premier League win at the west London helm, Noni Madueke claiming a 14-minute hat-trick at Molineux.
New head coach Maresca then reaffirmed the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership’s directions for this season as simply to build the bedrock for future top trophy success.
Maresca is adamant the Chelsea owners know they need stability and consistency over time to challenge for the Premier League and Champions League titles.
Confirming that the Chelsea owners do not regard this season as the year to mount a serious challenge, Maresca explained: “The target for us in this moment is to see the ways we can improve, and to improve players.
“The owners just asked me to improve the players and the team, and they did not ask us to challenge for the Premier League or Champions League title this season.
“The target is also to solve the economic problems in terms of the reason why we need to sell players and to do some things.
“I feel lucky because of the squad because of the players; I don’t feel lucky because the club didn’t ask me to win the Premier League or secure a Champions League spot.
“This is a club that won the Champions League three years ago, but then finished 12th and then sixth. So to challenge this season, that is not reality.
“I think we can build something important for time, months, years. And we can arrive again to compete for those competitions.
“It’s not the process that you can suddenly start to compete now. The difference between us and Manchester City and Arsenal is that City have been working with the same manager for eight, nine years, and Arsenal with the same manager for four, five years. And Chelsea have been working with the same manager for two months.
“So this is the biggest difference for me in this moment.”
Madueke’s second-half hat-trick allowed Chelsea to turn a 2-2 half-time scoreline into a Blues rout on the road, leaving Maresca enthused by what is to come this term at the Stamford Bridge club.
“I want to see my team playing the way we want to play, compete every game, this is the most important thing,” said Maresca.
“We want a clear idea on the ball, and off the ball to be a very aggressive team.
“In some moments today we started to see our team; we’ll try to improve the players, and I feel very lucky, very happy to have this challenge.
“I think the squad is very good, and I am very lucky to have so many players that are so versatile.”
