Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said it is up to his team to quieten the “noise” that surrounds the club by securing Champions League qualification on Sunday.
Victory for the Blues against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground will seal a top-five finish and a place in Europe’s top competition for the first time in three seasons.
It would mark a satisfying end to what has been at times a turbulent first season in charge for the Italian, one which began with a culling of the squad on the eve of the campaign that left a number of senior players frozen out.
It was the first sign of Maresca stamping his authority on what has often looked a chaotic environment at Stamford Bridge since the current owners took charge.
And despite a dip in form between December and March, during which he was loudly criticised by supporters over his playing style, he has gone on to steer the team to within one win of what neither of his predecessors during the Todd Boehly era managed.
“We needed to manage noises at the beginning but the noise was more from outside than inside,” said Maresca. “The inside since I joined the club looked quite normal.
“I don’t have the feeling that it was a mess. Since I joined the club it’s been quite clear. The noise was (about) a big squad, many managers, but inside it’s been all normal.
“You have more noise if you don’t get results. When we were second in December, everyone was happy, everyone said Chelsea is back. Then when we dropped points everyone said Chelsea was not good enough.
“If we are able to finish in the right way there will be less noise. But if in September we’re not going to win games the noise will be again a big noise.”
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This season has seen less emphasis from fans and critics placed on the amount of money that has been spent on recruitment since the change of ownership in May 2022.
Well over £1billion has been invested in the team with virtually the entire first-team squad having been replaced, and whilst Chelsea have for most of the season looked some way off being ready to challenge for the title, their young squad has made undeniable progress under Maresca.
Chief amongst those to have stood out is the club’s Player of the Year Moises Caicedo who has finally come through the pressure of his British-record £115million fee to excel.
“The price that you pay for a player is not decided by the player,” said Maresca. “If you pay money for a player it’s because you consider that that price is the correct one.
“I think Moi is doing fantastic. Enzo (Fernandez) is doing fantastic, (Marc) Cucurella is doing fantastic. All players that not a long time ago there was noise around them, but now because their performances are very good, no-one is thinking about how much money we paid for them.”
