“He needs to…” – Maresca calls for more from player he’s been asked to praise

Chelsea face Wolves twice in the coming weeks, so it was a good moment to ask Enzo Maresca about his thoughts on former Wolverhampton man Pedro Neto.

Maresca wants more from winger

“He’s top, he’s very humble, working hard, he’s a very important player for us and we are very happy with Pedro,” Maresca said.

“He’s exactly the same as other players, he needs to be always 100%, because in the moment that you drop a little bit, mentally or physically, in this league, it’s complicated.”

As always with Maresca, that sounds like praise very heavily leaning towards criticism. Just like with Noni Madueke, the manager seems determined to get more out of Neto in a psychological way.

He wants to make him into a real ruthless killer who never gives up, and that’s fine by us. Clearly, at the moment, he thinks the winger eases off too early and too often.

We do like this part of Maresca’s character – he’s not afraid to call out players even when they’re doing well, and he never seems satisfied with their efforts.

Neto has had an important role in a few games this season and is a no brainer selection for the manager – but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit we hoped there is more to come from the Portugal star.

In other news…

Chelsea struggle for consistency in their results, and a lot of that is because they don’t have any consistency in selection. Rotation and injuries have meant there’s not been a proper central defensive pair established, and Maresca admitted that has hurt his team.

Another major talking point from the presser was Joao Pedro. The striker has been struggling for form, but Enzo Maresca defended by saying that we shouldn’t be expecting 20 goals a season from him.