Maresca acknowledges Chelsea team spirit is low
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has acknowledged that team spirit has taken a hit after a poor run of form since the Christmas period.
The Blues travel to Aston Villa this weekend, having won just three of their past 11 matches in all competitions, with one of those victories coming against EFL League Two side Morecambe in the FA Cup third round.
Maresca said: "The team spirit in this moment has to be upset. We have to be upset because we are not happy with the results, we are all aware we are in a club where we are not here to survive, but to fight to win titles.
"They are the same players that for 19-20 games were top four, second for the most part of the season. For sure, after this moment, they are going to be better players and better professionals."
That poor run has seen Chelsea slip to sixth in the Premier League table and knocked out of the FA Cup. It trails fourth-placed Manchester City by one point and Maresca insists it is still aiming for a top-four finish.
"We said many times: I think we spent almost the season in top four and with 13 games to go, the target, for sure, is top four. We will try our best to achieve that," he said.
"Knowing the difficult moment we have now, one of the most important reasons why is because of the injury situation. Five or six significant players out.
"I'm here to win games, to bring this club to fight for titles. The problem is when you win games, you look humble and when you don't win games, you look like a lack of ambition. Since day one, my intention is to bring this club where it needs to be."
Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans, meanwhile, believes that his club can still finish in the UEFA Champions League qualification spots after its 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool in midweek.
After that draw, Villa is ninth in the Premier League and trails the top four by five points.
"We always have to believe. We have a lot of games left, but we just need to win games now," he said.
"It is just up to us to try and hit the ground running every time and week-in, week-out to try and put a performance in.
"We know we can do better and that we can have better results but I think with the performance like we had tonight [against Liverpool], we can be really pleased.
"The performance was really good. We had a lot of chances where we could score toward the end. The fact we came into the game was really good, very positive. We have to take the point, move on and keep performing."
