Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca stated that the preparation to Saturday's triumph against Everton represented "the most challenging 48 hours" of his tenure with the London club.
The 44-year-old offered a somewhat cryptic message in his post-match interview even after notching a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge through goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.
Those three precious points propelled Chelsea once again into the English top flight's top four, perhaps lightening the atmosphere following a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League that had stretched the side's drought without a win to consecutive matches.
Yet, when questioned about Gusto's assist and general performance, Maresca unexpectedly shared his displeasure over the preceding 48-hour period within the club.
"The way the players want to improve has been excellent and this is the explanation why I praise them - because with numerous problems, they are excelling after a difficult week," he stated.
"Since I joined the club, the previous 48 hours have been the worst because several people failed to back us."
Pressed on his meaning, the former Leicester City manager continued: "Worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn't support me and the team."
When asked if he was referring to people within at Chelsea, he replied: "In general. In general," before clarifying when asked if it was aimed at fans or the press: "I love the fans and we are extremely happy with the fans."
Maresca also pointed to Chelsea's ongoing fitness and disciplinary problems, remarking they had been missing star attacker Cole Palmer for much of the season, as well as being deprived of key midfielder Moises Caicedo to a three-match ban and forward Liam Delap to two significant injuries.
"I truly praise the players and the squad because we have played 16 Premier League games, 5 of them without Moises Caicedo, eleven of them without Cole Palmer, nearly every one of them without Liam Delap," he explained.
"And this squad, regardless of who is playing, they are performing fantastic. Today was 5 games in 12 days so for sure when you see Cole Palmer there, we have said many times that he's our best player but we play almost all season minus our best player.
"We play 5 games in the Premier League minus Moises Caicedo. This is the explanation why I'm so pleased for the players and it's something that I would want people outside to recognize because the effort from the players is fantastic."
Chelsea's win over Everton consolidated their standing in 4th place in the Premier League standings, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at Cardiff and a league trip to Newcastle to come in the coming days.
It was not immediately clear who or what caused Maresca to describe the previous 48 hours as the most difficult of his tenure as Chelsea manager.
In that period, the Italian had traveled back with his staff and players from his native Italy, conducted a training session at the training ground, faced a pre-game news conference where he seemed at ease, and secured a win over an high-flying Everton team.
It was unclear whether any specific media reports had unsettled him, if online comments played a role, or if it was something more significant from inside the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca only sought to rule out that it was an issue related to the club's supporters, a section of which have not yet fully embrace him since his arrival from Leicester during July 2024.
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