ENZO Maresca said he only wants the best for his players as he expanded on his criticism of Noni Madueke following Chelsea’s 5-1 win at Southampton on Wednesday.
After Madueke scored and assisted against Saints, Maresca said: “Noni can do much more. He can do much more. The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit and the reason why he was not playing is because I do not like the way he trained.”
Maresca revealed he also had a conversation with club skipper Reece James this season, as he aims to get improvements from his players.
“Over all he’s working well since we started,” Maresca said in his press conference ahead of Sunday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur. “Sometimes he drops a little bit. He’s not allowed to drop. In terms of numbers, he’s doing fantastic with goals and assists.
“Off the ball when we ask him to defend and press he’s doing very well. The only reason I said this the other day is because I want the best from Noni and to get the best you have to push him. If he relaxes a little bit, it’s wrong.
“I try to be, not a friend, but close to the players. Sometimes between friends, when you say something wrong to your friend he’s not happy. He has to know that what you say is because you want to take care of him.
“The same happened with Reece when I spoke about leadership, it’s because I wanted the best for Reece and for him to improve. For Noni, this is not different.”
The Blues go into the game against Spurs in second place, seven points behind Liverpool.
Maresca has insisted his side are not in the title race.
“There’s nothing to add,” Maresca said. “I said I don’t think we are there and ready to compete with Arsenal, Liverpool and City. We have to do many more things good, not just score goals. Avoid conceding goals.
“Defensively we are doing well but we are just focused on Sunday and then the next one. We are not thinking about April, May or June. It’s too early. Things can change quick in football. The focus is Sunday, today’s session and tomorrow’s session.
“In terms of points and how we want to play on and off the ball, I was convinced we’d reach that moment but not so early. We can do many things better in both situations – attacking and defending. We are ahead of my expectations.
“It’s because the players are doing fantastic. Probably the reason why is because we focus on the day by day and seeing how we can improve players. No more than that.”
Meanwhile, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was abused by some away fans after their 1-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday night, their sixth defeat in fourteen games.
Asked whether the fans were behind him, Postecoglou said at his pre-match press conference: “They aren’t behind me, they are behind the club. I have got no interest in who is behind me. Last night you have to figure the fans who travel to Bournemouth are fairly hardcore supporters. They weren’t happy with what they saw and they felt like they needed to give some feedback. I took the feedback onboard and we move on.”
Postecoglou added: “We have done well against the teams up the top end of the table, not just wins but played really well. Whether that is City or United or Villa. But it doesn’t eliminate what happened last night. That still needs to be addressed. We will put that to one side, it is a big game on Sunday.
“Chelsea are going really well, they are in a good space at the moment with a fairly healthy squad and in good form. Always a tough game against them but we are at home and we need to make sure we produce a performance like we have in the other games.”
