Marc Cucurella has criticised the Chelsea board and insisted he would not have dismissed Enzo Maresca. Maresca, 46, departed his position as the club's head coach on January 1 with the Blues occupying fifth place in the Premier League. Throughout his tenure at Stamford Bridge, the Italian secured the Conference League and Club World Cup, and steered them back into the Champions League after a three-year absence.
Liam Rosenior was quickly appointed as Maresca's successor and he delivered an immediate impact, triumphing in six of his opening eight fixtures across all competitions. However, Chelsea's performance has declined since, with the Blues managing merely three victories from their previous 10 matches and two of those successes arrived against Championship sides in the FA Cup.
It's a spell of results that has witnessed the club crash out of the Champions League and drop to sixth in the top flight, three points behind Liverpool in fifth and six away from fourth-placed Aston Villa.
"We knew what Maresca wanted from us," Cucurella told The Athletic. "Winning a title like the Club World Cup also helps, strengthens the bond, and you create great relationships during the celebrations. When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you'd die for him.
"The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision.
"To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season...
"The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell. We had a caretaker [Calum McFarlane] first, then a new manager, with new ideas and no time to work on them. It is what it is."