Enzo Maresca has told the Chelsea players who do not make his match-day squads that they must still attend the games at Stamford Bridge to show support for those selected ahead of them.
Behind the substitutes’ bench in Tuesday’s 5-0 Carabao Cup victory over Barrow, there was Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Jadon Sancho, Robert Sanchez, Reece James, Nicolas Jackson, Moises Caicedo and Wesley Fofana, among others sitting plain-clothed in the posh seats.
Chelsea’s squad depth makes it inevitable that some will miss out on squads and ahead of facing Fabian Hurzeler’s unbeaten Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday, Maresca has told his sidelined stars they must set their disappointment aside to act like a good team-mate.
‘I said that I want all of them there,’ he told reporters at Cobham on Friday. ‘The ones in the squad have to be there and the ones not in the squad have to be there too.
‘You have to behave like a team and if there is a game, they have to be there.
Enzo Maresca has told Chelsea players they must still attend and support the team even if he has decided to leave them out of his matchday squad
Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo were among those sitting behind the bench despite not making the matchday squad to face Barrow in the Carabao Cup earlier on this week
‘If there is a problem and some of them cannot come, then that is not a problem. I don’t know whether we say it is a rule but when there is a game, the players have to there.
‘In terms of culture, I think it is quite normal that if my team-mate is playing a game, I am there before the game to support him and I am there after the game to support him in case he wins, loses, does well or does badly.
It is normal for them to be there, whether it is the Premier League or Carabao Cup. If we want to create something then these small things are very important.’
Brighton fans particularly want to win the match after developing a rivalry with Chelsea, who have taken more of their star players than Seagulls supporters would have liked.
Caicedo is among those who will be targeted with boos from the away section, but Romeo Lavia has now returned from injury to compete with the £115million man and Enzo Fernandez in midfield.
Maresca has been pleased with Caicedo’s progress but said: ‘He’s doing well, especially off the ball. But he can do much, much, much better on the ball and be more brave, breaking lines. He is doing very well, but he can be even better on the ball.’ Asked if he wants the version of Caicedo that he saw for Brighton, Maresca said: ‘Absolutely. Yes.’