Every word Enzo Maresca said on shock Chelsea comments, relationship with the club and Cardiff

The full transcript from Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, who just completed his pre-match press conference ahead of the Blues' Carabao Cup quarter-final against Cardiff City

Enzo Maresca has just wrapped up his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Cardiff City on Tuesday evening. Though, the match was not really on the agenda in this afternoon's presser.

Instead, the attention was on Maresca and what he said post-Everton at the weekend. The Italian spoke about experiencing the "worst 48 hours" of his time at Stamford Bridge prior to the win over the Toffees and trying to get more out of the head coach was inevitably on the agenda today.

Bobby Vincent was part of the media in Cobham on Monday morning to ask Maresca questions. Below is the full transcript of everything the Chelsea boss had to say:

I just wanted to ask you, the comments you made on Saturday evening obviously created a lot of headlines and a lot of interest. What did you mean exactly by those comments and what did you want to achieve?

I already spoke about that and I don't have nothing to add.

But obviously what you said...

It's Cardiff tomorrow, please.

But you don't want to address at all the fact that you said what you said?

I already spoke about that and I think I was quite clear, no more than that.

But with all due respect, I don't think you were clear with what you said. We don't know who you were referring to. When you say something like that, people are going to be curious...

I respect your opinion and I respect people's opinion, but again, I don't have nothing to add, and my focus is just on tomorrow's game, that we can achieve the third semi-final in 18 months since I joined the club.

Everyone wants to know whether your relationship has worsened with the owners/sporting directors?

We are in an era where everyone can say what they think, I respect people's opinion, I respect your opinion, but again, I don't have nothing to add, my focus is just on tomorrow's game.

But it's not my opinion, you've opened a can of worms now...

I'm not saying your opinion, I said all of you, people's opinion, I respect, no problem, we are in a moment where everyone can say what they think, and I already answered the question, the focus for me is on tomorrow, and what I said after the Everton game, I already spoke about that, and I don't have nothing to add.

So are you happy that people are speculating about your relationship with the owners?

I said after the game that I love the Chelsea supporters, they deserve the best, and again, I don't have nothing to add.

Are you happy being the Chelsea head coach? Are you committed to Chelsea 100%?

Absolutely, yes.

Let's talk about the Cardiff game. You worked with the manager at Manchester City. What do you think about the job he is doing?

He's doing a great job. They are also top of the league, they are, as you said, playing nice football, winning games, and we need to pay attention, we need to be careful, because again, we can achieve something important, that is the third semi-final in 18 months.

What was your relationship like with him, what do you think of him as a coach and a manager?

I was under-23, coach, when I left he took over, he took my job, so he came here to see us, sessions and games, a while ago, months ago, and now he's doing a fantastic job.

Cole Palmer unlikely to be involved tomorrow evening?

I already said many times in all the press conferences that the target for the ones that they need to be protected is the target. Cole in this moment is one of the players that he deserves to be protected, and in this moment he's not available to play two games in three days.

Why did you think Saturday was the best time out to come out and say what you said?

I can speak Italian, my language, Spanish very well, French very well, and English more or less. I think when I want to say something, I'm quite clear. I already spoke after the game, I don't need to add more.

I wasn't asking about the comments, I was just asking why...

Italian, Spanish, French, so you all are aware. It's done, it's finished. It was after the game, I said what I said after the game. Now it's focused on Cardiff.

I understand that, but with respect, I was just asking why on Saturday, why not in the press conference on Friday, why not wait until the press conference today?

Obviously, the moment was that, and again, we need to move forward because tomorrow we have Cardiff.

Are you enjoying this season?

Absolutely, yes. Absolutely, it's fantastic.

It's had some ups and downs?

No, no, no. I said also last week, for me it's always no matter if we win or lose or we are in a good moment or bad moment, it's a fantastic opportunity because you can learn always. I love to learn and I'm very happy with that.

Guard against complacency for tomorrow?

These are the worst games for this reason. Football is full of these kind of games where the favourite one, they can use and they can drop. That's why we need to pay attention. That's why the focus has to be on Cardiff. Again, it can be the third semi-final in 18 months, but it's something important.

Have you spoke to the people at the club about your comments since making them?

I already spoke about that. I don't need to add more things. I start to prepare for the Cardiff game the morning after. So I'm just focused on Cardiff.

Is there going to be lots of changes? Is this an opportunity for you to rest?

Yeah, we're going to make some changes. We'll see how many, but for sure we have players that in the last 12, 13 days, they've played five games. So they need to probably recover energy.

How important it is for you to establish a winning mentality in the team?

It's the main thing. I think since I joined the club, I always try to say the same. To have the winning mentality, you need to win games. Otherwise, the players, they don't believe you. So since day one, we are trying to win games. And tomorrow is another chance to be there in another semi-final, no matter the competition. And it's an important moment for the players, for the fans, for the club, for everyone.

At which point do you think you are in building the team you want to build?

I think we are in the right direction. Knowing that there are some moments where we drop some points. But for me personally, it's part of the journey. But for sure, I have the feeling that we are getting better and better.

Do you think the expectations of Chelsea are sometimes too big?

No, when you are Chelsea manager, you understand that the expectations are higher. Especially this season, they are more higher than they were a little bit compared to last season. Probably because of the Club World Cup, Conference League, we finished fourth in the Premier League. And as you said, we are the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League. So probably this season, the expectations are a little bit higher. But I think it's something normal when you are a Chelsea player or Chelsea manager.

Do you think you have to have a season at least as good as last season to be seen as a success this year?

I think the target for this club is always to improve. And we're going to try to improve what we did last season.

What would you say have been the positives and negatives about working at Chelsea? We all know how the management structure is here and how it can be a bit prescriptive. And that might not be to every manager's taste. Has the job been what you expected?

Absolutely, yes. I think it's lots of positive things, for sure.

Does Malo Gusto have a future in midfield?

I see Malo and Reece [James], that they can play in both positions, full-back and midfielder. Now it depends where we need them. We're going to use them. Again, the last game against Everton, we played with Malo and Reece, both in the midfield. They are both full-backs, but they can also play as a midfielder. And we are happy for Malo because he never scored before in his career. Now he's scored already two. Something similar happened with Cucu last year. He scored six, seven goals. So we are happy to help players to improve and to get better.