Enzo Maresca insists he has inherited a ‘very good’ squad at Chelsea and urged the club’s fans to ‘trust the process’ as he begins his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian left Leicester City earlier in the summer to take over at Chelsea following Mauricio Pochettino’s departure from west London.
Pochettino agreed to leave Chelsea at the end of last season despite guiding the Blues to a sixth-place finish and a European place after a poor start to the Premier League campaign.
Maresca’s Leicester won the Championship title last term, securing an immediate return to the top-flight, and the 44-year-old wants to enjoy more success at Chelsea, who last won the Premier League in 2017.
‘I’m very happy and excited,’ Maresca said in his first interview as Chelsea manager. ‘It will be a fantastic journey and I’m excited to get started [with the players] as soon as possible.’
Maresca takes over a squad that includes England star Cole Palmer, Euro 2024 semi-finalist Marc Cucurella and £100m pair Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.
‘One of the reasons I’m here is because I’m convinced the squad is very good and full of talent,’ he said. ‘The most important thing now is we’re able to create the right culture that drives us for the season.
‘I always say the same: if you are able to improve players then you are able to improve the team. So it’s our target to try to improve all of them day by day.’
Maresca wants his Chelsea team to be ‘aggressive on and off the ball’ and is keen to ‘create a connection’ between the players and the fans.
‘We are going to try to be an aggressive team on the ball and off the ball and we need to create this connection between the fans and the club, especially at home,’ he said.
‘When you have your own fans behind the team pushing, it’s like playing with 12 players and this is what we have to create here.’
Asked for a final message to the club’s fans, Maresca added: ‘Just trust the process, trust the idea, be behind the team. For sure we are going to enjoy the journey.
‘Like at every club, for every manager, it will not be easy because nothing is easy. But for sure we are going to enjoy our journey.’
Maresca’s Chelsea kick-start the 2024-25 Premier League campaign on August 18 against reigning champions Manchester City.
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