Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has called on Noni Madueke to improve his attitude despite the winger getting on the scoresheet against Southampton on Wednesday evening.
Asked about the winger’s display in the post-match press conference, Maresca said he is a big admirer of Madueke’s abilities but he wants to see him perform better in training:
“Noni can do much more. He can do much more. The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit and the reason why he was not playing is because I do not like the way he trained. He has to understand that he has to train every day good. He has to be ambitious. He scored one tonight, he has to go for the second one and the third one. He has to give more assists. But overall, he is doing great, he is doing fantastic. He is doing even better in terms of numbers. Noni has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better.”
Supporters on X were in full agreement with Maresca and they are hoping that Madueke takes the advice on board:
Showing him tough love ! I like it
— Esong Obaseki (@ObasekiEsong) December 5, 2024
The boy needs to sit up he has an idea now on why he sits on the bench
— Wallop 🇧🇪 (@Wallop30BG) December 5, 2024
It’s not just for Noni but to everyone else, they all need to be more consistent
— Tîmhâzârd🇰🇪 (@Timhazard254) December 5, 2024
Maresca is honest with his opinion, Noni has to listen and learn before he lose his place
— SANTIGIE🇸🇱 (@Ssesayeng1) December 5, 2024
And if Noni doesn’t listen,Estavio is coming 👊🏾
— Michael West (@Michael_West77) December 5, 2024
This man is always looking for improvements, and that’s a very good trait.
— kingg_dayvid (@kinggdayvid) December 5, 2024
Madueke has had similar problems before
It is not the first time that Madueke has been in the doghouse. He barely featured in the first six months of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure, and that was also attributed to how poor he was in training.
The winger worked hard and got back into the team, performing well from Christmas onwards, but it does seem as if he does fall back into old habits sometimes.
Managing Chelsea’s young players isn’t easy
Maresca is a hard taskmaster and it’s clear that he is having to use both the carrot and stick to ensure this young squad perform week in, week out.
Inconsistency is inevitable with youngsters but Maresca is handling the situation very well considering the Blues sit 2nd in the table.
Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here
