Inside Chelsea dressing room: Maresca questions desire as 'useless' Palmer & Nkunku singled out | OneFootball

Head coach Enzo Maresca will be putting his Chelsea players through their paces at Cobham in a bid to bounce back from their two defeats against Brighton.

It’s been a disappointing week for Chelsea after exiting the FA Cup and falling out of the Premier League top four after 2-1 and 3-0 defeats respectively, which saw the Blues manage just one shot on target across the 180 minutes.

Standards noticeably slipped in both trips to the Amex and it reflected on the pitch, with Chelsea struggling to create in the final third and conceding far too many chances, many of which coming from mistakes.

Maresca admitted the 3-0 league defeat was Chelsea’s worst of the season so far. Fortunately, there are still plenty of games remaining for them to return to the Champions League qualification spots.

It was a display that left Chelsea fans frustrated and upset, questioning the direction of the football club under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership.

After accepting the fans’ feelings, Maresca questioned his dressing room’s desire and insisted discussions will take place about the reasons why.

Results will come for Chelsea and Maresca (pictured) if the performances match. / IMAGO / Sportimage

“In this moment, (the fans) are completely right to be upset,” said Maresca. “In this moment of the season, with the chance we have of bringing this club to where this club has to be. The desire we showed was not enough.”

He added: “I don't know (why we are lacking desire). It's something that we need to think about and something we need to talk (about). As I said, you have 14 games to go. Winning tonight you can go one point from third, you can make the gap bigger with the rest.”

Chelsea have a week to clear their frustrations, reset and prepare for their fixture which comes away from home against Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Since Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu are both sidelined with muscular injuries, Chelsea are without a recognised centre-forward.

Maresca is needing to find solutions in their absence. Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku are two of the attackers now responsible for ensuring Chelsea cope in the meantime until Jackson and Guiu return.

Nkunku desired more minutes in the Premier League. He's now been given the chance. He must now deliver when it matters most. / IMAGO / Sports Press Photo

Both Nkunku and Palmer were singled out by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville after the 3-0 loss to Brighton.

“Nkunku and Palmer are very good players but they were very poor,” said Neville. “These two are very talented players. I thought they were useless as a pair tonight. This is where their team needs them and they really need to turn up.”

Palmer's recent form hasn't translated to his early season form. However, he has built up credit in the bank for pulling Chelesea through, including the four he bagged against Brighton earlier in the season. His teammates must produce moments to support the contributions of goals and assists. Palmer cannot be relied upon every single week to bail Chelsea out.

Those at Chelsea, players and staff, will attempt to block out any external noise as they look to get back on track and back to winning ways. But the noise will only get louder if they fail to do so, particularly against Aston Villa, Southampton and Leicester City who all await in the next month.

It’s now over to Maresca and the Chelsea squad to ensure the mood in the dressing room, stands and boardroom returns to one of positivity.