Chelsea legend Gus Poyet has praised Enzo Maresca for the start he has made at Stamford Bridge since his appointment in the summer.

Speaking exclusively to ChelseaNews.com (courtesy of BetVictor), Poyet said that one of the most important factors is the growing maturity of the first team:

“I think the important thing here is that all these players that we’re talking [about] and they’re playing regularly now. Two years ago they were very, very young. They didn’t know the Premier League. They were coming into a different kind of lifestyle.”

“We knew that most of them – not all – I would say 75% of them or 80% of them – two years later – they will be better. Everybody knew that. I mean the ones that didn’t know they don’t pay attention to young player development. So I think the timing of the arrival for Maresca is better than the timing when Graham Potter got the job and especially Mauricio Pochettino.”

Consistency of selection has helped Chelsea progress

Under Pochettino, in particular, there were several occasions when more than 10 players were on the treatment table. That hasn’t happened since Maresca’s arrival and Poyet says the ability to play the same players together, week in and week out has helped to build confidence and momentum:

“He [Maresca] has trained the team very well. He was consistent in the selection of the team. I think that we know – eight or nine players that would play when it’s an important game. That didn’t happen in the last two years because of the quantity of players and injuries.”

“And also because when you get the momentum, the players, they get confident and they start playing better. I think the competition now is clear. You know there are certain players that when they are fit, they play.”

Maresca will be hoping to maintain that momentum against his former club

The Blues take on Maresca’s previous club Leicester in the lunchtime kickoff and three points will keep them third in the table; a position that not many believed they would be in after 12 games this season.

We will have more insights from Gus Poyet in further excerpts from our exclusive interview with the former Blues player over the next few days.

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here