Enzo Maresca remains coy over whether he feels supported by club after Chelsea win

Maresca caused a stir over the weekend when he said he had endured ‘the worst 48 hours since I joined the club’ in the build-up to the visit of Everton

Enzo Maresca remained coy over whether he feels supported by Chelsea after the Blues survived a scare at League One’s Cardiff City to progress into the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Maresca caused a stir over the weekend when, following Chelsea’s routine 2-0 victory over Everton, he used his post-match press conference to claim out of the blue that he had endured a torrid few days.

“The last 48 hours have been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club because so many people didn’t support us,” he insisted, leading to speculation he was referencing the club’s ownership or sporting directors.

He refused to address the situation in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Cardiff trip and remained defiant after full-time, though he was sure to highlight that he feels he’s always had the support of the supporters.

"Tonight the focus has to be that we reached the semi-final,” he told Sky Sports.

Enzo Maresca chose to focus on his team’s performance after full-time in Cardiff (Action Images via Reuters)

“The support from fans has always been there, overall tonight the focus has to be that we won and we are in the semi-final.

"We are in semi-final, we will wait for tomorrow night to see what the next step is to get to the final and hopefully we can reach the final."

Maresca was spared by his substitutes after making 11 changes to his starting XI at the Cardiff City Stadium, with goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto off the bench helping the Blues to a 3-1 win.

"I trust all the players, knowing that sometimes for some it's more difficult,” he added. “Tonight we had Buonanotte, not playing a lot, it's not easy for them but they did a huge effort and we were better on the ball in the second half.”

The result ensured Maresca’s third semi-final since taking over at Chelsea, with aspirations of a first trophy on home soil very much alive.

"We are going in the right direction, everything I do is because I want the best for everyone - the fans, players everyone,” he said.