Under-pressure Enzo Maresca is pushing his luck by warring with Chelsea fans - he must focus on getting struggling Blues back on track or face the consequences

Any hope that Chelsea would be able to recapture their early-season form - when they were playing with freedom and surpassed expectation by soaring as high as second in the Premier League - has now dissipated as the end of the campaign draws into sight.

What was thought to be a blip at Christmas has become a drawn-out and often agonising downturn in form, as the Blues desperately search for some consistency and slog it out to try to secure a Champions League place having looked like potential title contenders a matter of months ago.

Since moving within two points of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League with a home victory over Brentford on December 15, Maresca's side have inexplicably slid to 14th in the form table, winning five, drawing five and losing six of their 16 matches. That record is not dissimilar to the spell that cost Graham Potter his job back in 2023 (17 points from 14 games).

Unlike Potter, however, Maresca's position is still said to be safe for the time being as the hierarchy maintain their unwavering faith - but that could change very quickly if Chelsea fail to qualify for Europe's premier club competition.

Ironically, patience among the supporters has worn thin with Maresca's patient, often slow style of play since the turn of the year, and the fans have not been shy in voicing their discontent at some incredibly laboured performances in games Chelsea were expected to win at a canter.

The atmosphere has been particularly hostile at Stamford Bridge, with the head coach unable to bite his tongue when he responded to the audible displeasure of the paying public back in March as his side were only able to edge past soon-to-be relegated Leicester City, pointedly insisting afterwards: "The people have to understand this is our way, our style, and this is the way we are going to play. If you think football is just a PlayStation [game] and you win easy, no way - every game is difficult."

At that stage, Maresca was able to lean on the fact that Chelsea were still in the top four, in control of their own destiny in terms of Champions League qualification and, therefore, "ahead of schedule" - a point that he has been keen to drive home all season long. However, consecutive, mightily underwhelming draws against Brentford and Ipswich - who sit 11th and 18th in the table, respectively - have seen the Blues slide out of the top five, and the mood has soured again.

Chelsea's home has been no stranger to a toxic atmosphere in recent years amid the most tumultuous period in the club's modern history, but there has been a noticeable rise in hostility in recent weeks as the fans demand far more from an eye-wateringly expensive squad.

Emotions threatened to boil over again on Sunday, as the Blues found themselves 2-0 down to struggling Ipswich before half-time; large sections of the home support were enraged by their team's carelessness, turgid build-up play and lack of a cutting edge. Some backwards passes were even greeted with boos, as were touches for under-fire goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

A video from the stands that went viral following the game gave an insight into the negativity. Amid widespread murmurs of discontent, one fan shouts "F*cking sort it out, you f*cking useless c*nts", before another directs their anger at Sanchez, calling him a "f*cking piece of sh*t".

Following his barbed comments in March, Maresca once again took aim at those dissenting voices after his side managed to salvage a 2-2 draw in the second period - albeit a result that left them outside the Champions League places and reliant on their many rivals slipping up in what remains of the campaign.

"I think we lost a little bit of confidence, because we conceded, probably because of the environment," the Italian said. "In terms of fans, I said many times, we are stronger with our fans, we are a better team. It's up to them to decide the way. For sure today, probably, at 0-1, 0-2, it's normal to be the way they were. But it’s probably the moment the players need more support."

Maresca even went as far as to claim that Sanchez had been influenced by the disquiet in the stands when he chose to kick unusually long just before Chelsea went 2-0 down, as the ball was immediately lost in midfield and Ipswich broke on them.

"This is the moment that you have to continue doing the right things and don't change the plan," he said. "The second goal, we decide to play [the goal kick] long, because the environment is there, and we concede the second one. You have to be strong, you have to continue with the things that you are doing."

In his analysis on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, pundit Jamie Carragher suggested the incident spoke to a complete breakdown between the fans and the head coach. "Just listen to the noise in the crowd," he said. "You see the goalkeeper urging everybody up, and actually at one stage telling the crowd to calm down. So he's been really influenced by the crowd. So he's said push up, then another chance starts up from the crowd: 'attack, attack, attack'."

His conclusion was damning: "What it tells you is that there no connection between the Chelsea supporters and the man in the dugout."

If Maresca thinks he can win this sporadic war of words with some of the clubs own support, he is sorely mistaken. Early-season results aside, the head coach has done little to ingratiate himself to the fanbase since arriving. The 45-year-old is far more reserved than his most popular predecessors like Jose Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte, maintaining a steely demeanour and rarely breaking character other than cracking the odd smile in his press conferences.

There is also the perception that he doesn't possess the winning mentality required to prowl the Stamford Bridge touchline; some sections of the support have been left bemused by the manager's refusal to talk up his side and their aspirations, exemplified by repeatedly insisting they were not in the title race when they plainly were (as though he was manifesting this alarming downturn in form), insisting the Blues were 'ahead of schedule' by being fourth and his admission that he was content to 'focus on the league' following the dire FA Cup exit at the hands of Brighton.

The league table dictates that Chelsea are no longer 'ahead of schedule', and with that invisible safeguard removed, Maresca must be far more careful in terms of how he responds to the energy of the crowd.

Maresca doubled down on his bold stance before guiding Chelsea to another disappointing result, this time in the form of an alarming Conference League quarter-final second-leg defeat to Legia Warsaw, although the Premier League giants still progressed on aggregate.

"In my mind, I think the team is ready [to take two steps forward next season] and the reason why I say that is because of this season," he said. "Even from outside, it is difficult to see.

"In the last two years, Chelsea have been in the top four zero times. This season, we have been in the top four most of the season. This is the reason why fans need to trust us, trust the team and trust the club. This season, we spent almost the whole season top four. It is big proof that the team is improving and doing the right things."

The problem Maresca has is, at this late stage of the season, it feels as though things are far more likely to get worse before they get any better - not least because Chelsea face some seriously stern tests in their last six league games.

After clashes with Fulham and Everton before the end of April, Chelsea will host champions-elect Liverpool and then travel to top-five rivals Newcastle - arguably the toughest away day in the Premier League. They then end the domestic season by welcoming Manchester United and making the trip to Champions League-chasing Nottingham Forest on the final day.

It's not an exaggeration to say it's unclear where the Blues' next win is coming from, and Maresca's outlook for the remainder of the campaign will hardly fill supporters with confidence. "I think we are going to win games, but at the same time we are going to drop points, because it's normal," he said following the Ipswich draw. "For sure, probably today you don't expect to drop points."

Carragher shares Maresca's negative viewpoint, and Chelsea fans will be fearing the worst. "It’s a massive blow, that [drawing with Ipswich]," the Liverpool legend said. "It’s not just the two points they miss out on, it's one of those fixtures that you look at on paper and think 'that's a guaranteed three points', because Chelsea have got really tough fixtures between now and the end of the season.

"I don't see them making the Champions League. I don’t see it. I keep talking about connection, but you see it with Newcastle and the supporters and players. You'll see it with Forest as well, they'll still have that, they’ll still be fighting to get their team over the line. I don’t think we see that with Chelsea right now, I don’t think there’s any real connection between the manager and the supporters there… I fear for Chelsea in terms of making Champions League football."

The depressing truth for Chelsea followers is that it's difficult to argue with Carragher's perspective as the season winds down. Rather than warring with them, Maresca needs to focus his energy on extracting some positive performances to get the fans back on board - his future may depend on it.