Enzo Maresca was picked as the candidate to replace Mauricio Pochettino, with this being his first season as a Premier League manager.
As we enter the second international break of the campaign, the Blues sit in the top four of the table and have not been beaten since the opening day of the season.
There was reported hesitance from Todd Boehly in particular to sack Pochettino, with this being one of the many reasons there has been a rift caused between himself and Behdad Eghbali.
Chelsea hierachy now really happy with Enzo Maresca
However, Graeme Bailey has exclusively revealed to The Chelsea Chronicle that there is a good feeling about what is going on under Maresca, and their target for the rest of the season reflects that.
He said: “Yeah very much so. You wouldn’t describe it as a surprise but they’re very pleased with how quickly the players have adapted because that wasn’t the look in pre-season, and there was a worry that they might have to do more work on the squad.
“There was always a belief in Marasca and the way he wanted to do it, but they’d hoped it would be more evolution than revolution.
“I think the Chelsea hierarchy knew they’d built a very good squad, they know it’s still not perfect and there’s issues there but there is a firm belief they can challenge the top four now, from speaking to people close to the club, top four is not beyond their reach by any stretch.”
Chelsea targeting top four finish
Finishing in the top four would be a significant upgrade on where they ended last season, and also almost certainly secure Champions League qualification for the campaign after.
They are currently playing in the Conference League, a competition which many supporters will be of the belief they should win quite comfortably.
The Blues got off to a good start with a 4-2 win over Gent last week, which also allowed a number of those not regularly starting to make an impact.
Pedro Neto is one player who took advantage of this, with him impressing supporters greatly and getting on the scoresheet again.
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