Chelsea are doing the right things and deserve fans’ trust, claims Enzo Maresca

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca believes his players deserve the trust of doubting supporters having mounted the club’s first serious bid for Champions League qualification in three seasons.

Relations with the fans have been fractious at times during Maresca’s first campaign, never more so than when his team were loudly booed from the field while 2-0 down at half-time against Ipswich on Sunday.

Chelsea recovered to rescue a draw and despite dropping out of the top five it remains in their hands whether they return to Europe’s top competition for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign.

However, there has been a palpable disconnect between the team and Stamford Bridge regulars since the turn of the year, with some supporters near the dugout on Sunday singling Maresca out for criticism.

One fan urged him to “go back to Leicester” (his former club) while another loudly and repeatedly protested that performances under the Italian have been “boring.”

The head coach said previously he had been given a target of qualifying for the Champions League within two seasons, and after finishes of 12th and sixth in the previous two campaigns there has been clear progress in that direction.

Asked whether he felt the team were ready to make the step up, he said: “We’ve proved this season, even if sometimes it’s difficult to see that.

“In the last two years Chelsea has been top four zero times. This season we have been top four most of our season. I was not here two years ago, I’m not judging that, I’m just judging this season.

“This is the reason I think the fans have to trust us, to trust the team and the club what we are doing now. I think it’s a big proof that the team is improving and doing the right things.

“We are going to fight for important things. It’s right for the fans and (the media) to trust us because we are doing the right things.”

Chelsea take a 3-0 aggregate lead into the second leg of their Conference League quarter-final against Legia Warsaw on Thursday, and with progression all but secured the focus will be on what kind of performance the team produce in front of their own fans.

With the exception of the recent 1-0 win over Tottenham, when Spurs came out and left room for Chelsea to attack them, recent visitors to Stamford Bridge have sat deep and frustrated the team and supporters alike.

“If fans complain because after four minutes our keeper gives the ball away, if I am one of the fans I also complain,” said Maresca. “But sometimes they complain with something that they cannot see but it is a plan.

“When you are 0-2 at home against Ipswich, it’s normal that they are not happy. We have to be good enough to engage them.

“Against Spurs was a perfect environment because we were able to engage the people. The problem is that most of the time people are engaged when the game is quick, but when (the opposition) sit back, they are not engaged. It’s not because of us, it’s because of the opponent.”