Maresca has been a little frosty of lateplaceholder image
Maresca has been a little frosty of late | Getty Images
There is some pressure building on Enzo Maresca amid a couple of frosty press conferences from the Chelsea boss.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has come under pressure of late amid a frosty appearance or two in front of the microphones. The Blues have had a relatively steady season so far, though they have lacked consistency in their bid to improve on last season’s Champions League qualification.
Chelsea are on course to qualify for UEFA’s top competition again, currently in fourth spot, but they don’t look any closer to being title contenders, or truly competing with the top two sides.
In the meantime, there has been speculation surrounding Maresca, who seemed to hit out at some within the club last week when he said: “The last 48 hours has been the worst since I joined the club because many people didn't support me and the team.” When asked by who, Maresca added: “In general."
The Italian also clarified that it was not from the fans, adding “I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans."
Those comments sparked a storm, with speculation that Maresca had fallen out with some of the higherups, but things have now settled down a little with back-to-back wins against Everton and Cardiff City. Meanwhile, Maresca has called on fans to support the cause over the festive period.
“Continue to support the team in the way you have done since I joined the club and also in the past,” he said. “Just trust the process from the team, the club and from everyone. The other day we achieved our third semi-final in 18 months. Last season, again, was good in terms of trophies, and we finished fourth in the Premier League. We brought the club back to the Champions League and the target is to improve upon what we did last season.”
Even with things settling down a little in the last couple of days, there is still talk of Maresca being replaced should the environment sour, and nothing does that like bad form, adding a layer of pressure over the festive period.
Next Chelsea boss odds
In the meantime, some bookmakers are already offering specials on the next Chelsea boss as pressure builds. The leader in the odds is former Barcelona boss Xavi, while Fulham’s Marco Silva and manager of sister club Strasbourg, Liam Rosenior, is also seen as a likely option should the Blues look for a new boss.
There are also some former bosses on the list in Antonio Conte and Frank Lampard at longer odds, while former player and current Como boss Cesc Fabregas is down there in the odds.
Though, with even the favourite at 5/1, that tells you the oddsmakers are not confident about Maresca being sacked, and they are certainly not confident about who Chelsea will turn to should they pull the trigger.
Here are the odds in full.
Xavi 5/1
Marco Silva 6/1
Liam Rosenior 7/1
Andoni Iraola 8/1
Oliver Glasner 8/1
Unai Emery 8/1
Antonio Conte 12/1
Diego Simeone 14/1
Julian Nagelsmann 14/1
Regis Le Bris 16/1
Sebastian Hoeness 16/1
Simone Inzaghi 16/1
Cesc Fabregas 18/1
Frank Lampard 20/1
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