We did not have to lose for me to understand Chelsea is not in title race, says head coach Maresca

London, Jan 3 Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, who in recent times has been adamant and grounded about the reality of his side and claimed on many an occasion that his side was never in the title race, once again opened up on the topic after dropping points in three consecutive league outings. Chelsea were second in the Premier League table before a 0-0 draw against Everton, a 1-2 loss against Fulham, and a shocking 0-2 defeat away at Ipswich Town which has seen them fall down to fourth place in the table.

"Yeah, but I didn’t need to wait to lose games to understand that. Always said why I would like to tell you we are there because it is something nice, not something bad to be in the title race, but the reason why I said that was because I didn't think we were ready. I didn’t need to wait to lose two games in a row to prove to me or you I was right," said Maresca in a press conference.

Despite not being in the title race, Chelsea fans will be desperate to finish in the top four, to seal a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League. Maesca stressed the importance of every game from here on out.

“Not just this weekend, the next 19 games it is important we are going to be there. I don't think one of us in this room expects us to be where we are now at the start of the season. It means the team is doing very well.

"Now the second part is ahead of us and we have to keep doing what we are doing. We could be third again, second again, but could also be fifth or sixth in the table - [important] not to panic, just matter of seeing at the end of the season where we are,” he added.

Maresca updated further on Fofana’s hamstring injury, with the head coach confirming that the defender will be sidelined for a significant period without putting an exact timescale on any potential return date. Fofana has had wretched luck with injuries ever since joining Chelsea. He suffered a Cruciate Ligament Tear that kept him out of action for more than a year and is now once again expected to spend a significant amount of time on the sidelines.

"With Wes, we don’t know exactly how long he could be out for, but he has a hamstring injury and unfortunately we are going to lose him for a while. ‘I have said many times that I love Wes and of course not having him available is a huge loss for us,” he added.

Source: IANS