Ian Wright says exactly how Chelsea’s owners will be feeling about Enzo Maresca right now

Add as preferred source on Google

The frustration from Chelsea supporters towards Enzo Maresca is threatening to boil over in recent days.

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, 45, is experiencing some major criticism right now over his side’s performances. In particular, there has been a significant backlash after Sunday’s 2-2 draw at home to Ipswich Town in the Premier League.

Chelsea fans were furious versus Ipswich inside the ground as the team lost two crucial points in the race for Champions League qualification.

A common theme this season is that supporters are growing frustrated with the team’s stubbornness to build out from defence. However, Maresca explained Chelsea conceded against Ipswich as a result of Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez kicking long from a goal kick because of pressure from the Stamford Bridge crowd.

On top of that, Maresca criticised the environment at Chelsea after the Ipswich draw, suggesting it impacted his players on the pitch.

• READ MORE: Thierry Henry makes claim about disconnect between Enzo Maresca and Chelsea fans, ‘I remember Unai Emery…’

Ian Wright claims Chelsea’s owners should be upset with Enzo Maresca

Ian Wright believes that the Chelsea owners should be angered by Maresca’s recent criticism of the club’s fanbase.

He said on The Kelly & Wrighty Show (14 April): “I listened to his interview again, he was almost blaming the crowd for not being patient with the team for them playing out the back. He’s upset with the goalkeeper because then the goalkeeper knocked it long, and then they (Ipswich) scored a goal. I think any manager that starts pointing the finger and bringing the fans in – it’s dangerous ground to do that…

“For him to say that, if I’m upstairs, I wouldn’t be happy hearing him talking about the fans like that. If I’m the fans, I wouldn’t be happy with him trying to blame us. It’s going to be interesting to see how that one pans out.”

Even though Maresca is receiving a lot of attention in the media after the weekend, reports suggest that he’s still secure in his role as the manager. Maresca is on safe ground at Chelsea despite the obvious disconnect with supporters right now.

The Blues can still salvage their season by winning the Conference League and finishing in the Premier League’s top five positions to qualify for the Champions League. It’s worth noting they’ve dropped to sixth in the league table after slipping up at home to Ipswich, though.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	32	23	7	2	74	31	43	76
2	ArsenalArsenal	32	17	12	3	57	27	30	63
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	32	17	6	9	51	38	13	57
4	NewcastleNewcastle	31	17	5	9	56	40	16	56
5	Man CityManchester City	32	16	7	9	62	42	20	55
6	ChelseaChelsea	32	15	9	8	56	39	17	54
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	32	15	9	8	49	46	3	54

The huge belief Chelsea have in Enzo Maresca

The Chelsea hierarchy have huge admiration for Maresca, which is why we don’t expect him to leave the manager’s dugout in the near future.

Back in March, it was claimed that Chelsea’s owners have huge faith in Maresca because they believe he’s got the potential to grow into one of the world’s very best managers.

We’ve seen Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino have fairly short stints managing at Stamford Bridge, but will Maresca be the coach to go against the grain? If he’s to enjoy a long-term future in West London, we’d suggest he needs to quickly go about mending his relationship with the supporters.