Maresca says Chelsea slump in form ‘normal’

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said the club’s slump in form is ‘normal’ and has backed the Blues to get back to their best.

Maresca was named Premier League Manager of the Month for November on Friday, but the West Londoners have had a poor start to December. Chelsea are without a win in four games across all competitions, ahead of facing Everton this weekend.

“This kind of thing (Manager of the Month) is because you do the right things in terms of performance and results,” the Italian said at his pre-match press conference.

“For us November was fantastic. December, we didn’t start in the way we would like, even if it’s just one week ago. So it’s just three games in a row in one week that we didn’t get results that we expect.

“It’s football and it’s completely normal. We are always looking for problems and things we need to solve. The Leeds game was eight or nine days ago, we are not going to change our season because we didn’t get the points we expect. I’m completely relaxed. It’s football, that’s the reason why we drop points.”

On how his team can improve the consistency in their results, Maresca added: “It’s the next step for us. I think during the season, the ones that are more consistent, they are the teams that are going to be there.

“How do we do that, it’s just one week, it’s not a long time, but for sure when something happens, the next game you are more prepared and you can avoid that.

“In terms of human beings, it’s impossible to be at the same level for the whole season but we need to learn things for the future.”

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