'Not happy with them at all!' - Chelsea players blasted by Emmanuel Petit as ex-Blues midfielder blames Enzo Maresca for 'very bad message' he sent squad in December press conference

Emmanuel Petit has pulled no punches in his assessment of Chelsea’s recent form, slamming the players for not living up to their billing and pointing the finger at head coach Enzo Maresca for sending what he called a “very bad message” to the squad during a December press conference. The former Blues midfielder admitted he’s “not happy with them at all” as pressure continues to mount at Stamford Bridge.

In an interview with Sambaslots, Petit analysed Chelsea's situation, questioning both the players and coach Maresca: "I think the Premier League is very competitive. There are so many big clubs, big teams, and big players. Chelsea have been through so many difficult things on and off the pitch for the last two or three seasons. They're a good team with so many young players all together, but I've been very disappointed with the performances so far, with a lot of them.

"Some players have been injured for months now and other players have not performed very well. They splashed so much money on some players and I'm not happy with them at all. Cole Palmer has not been the same kind of player since January. So is it Enzo Maresca’s fault? I think they need to have a strong look at what needs to happen at the end of the season. Because of the financial situation, they are under regulations so they have to sell players before thinking about buying new players. 

"Maresca is probably responsible for a few things. First of all, he said that his team was not able to win the Premier League a few months ago and I think that was a very bad message he sent to his players. Especially when you have so many young players. Now, they are still learning, they're still improving all together. But I think from last season so far, I think some of them have improved a lot. So Maresca is responsible for some things. But in the meantime, I think a lot of players don’t take responsibility on the pitch and they aren’t showing character and personality to step up.

"Some of them have stepped up, I’m thinking about Moises Caicedo, for example, Palmer, for example, was still the leader of the team until recently. Enzo Fernandez has improved a lot from last season."

Back in December, Maresca downplayed Chelsea's chances of finding themselves in a title race as they occupied second position at the time.

"No matter how many games we win, I think we are not ready to compete for the title," said Maresca. "One of the reasons why is that the team that knows how to compete to win titles, they won't concede goals we concede. A team that knows how to win titles, that is not a goal they know how to concede. Just two teams have conceded less than us. Defensively we're not doing bad. We'd like to end with a clean sheet but there's another team trying to score."

Of course, Maresca was spot on as the Blues haven't been able to mount a meaningful title charge. In fact, they have dropped out of the top five, which means they could potentially miss out on a Champions League spot next season.

Maresca's side will be aiming to close out the season on a high. They will face Everton in their next game, which will be played at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, April 26.