Enzo Maresca rejected concerns about the form of Cole Palmer and said it was the other players to dig Chelsea from their current fall.
Maresca’s side has slipped in seventh place in the Premier League after three defeats in their last four games, the last of which came to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Palmer was a creative force for Chelsea this season with 14 goals and six assists in 26 appearances, but did not score five exits with his decline reflecting that of his team.
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Chelsea hosts the Rock-Bottom Southampton tomorrow night, offering both the club and the player the opportunity to return along the way.
Asked about the English player today, Maresca said: “I am always worried about the general performance. I am not worried about Cole because Cole is a man and may have some moments at a time when he is a little more fighting.
“The problem with Cole is that we rely on Cole for everything and I said since we started to rely on the team. We need top players like Cole, but we don’t worry at all.”
We need to be more clinical – Maresca
Asked what Palmer has to do to return to his best, the Italian added: “He must continue the way he works. Or helps him, so it’s difficult.
“He’s a man. At the moment his performances are probably reflecting the team performances we are struggling to score goals, so we have to be a little more clinical when we have the chances. ”
On paper, a game with the saints looks perfect for Chelsea, but Maresca is cautious on the part of Ivan Juric despite the fact that they have only claimed nine points throughout the season.
He said: “I don’t trust games like this, it may be difficult games. If you watch the game against Manchester United, they won 1-0 until the last five minutes. It’s a difficult and from now on, every game, every team plays For something, so they are all harsh.
“Our job is to prepare every game to win. From now on we have 12 games to go and there is no doubt that all 12 must win for us.”
Jorgensen is still the number one
Maresca will stick with Filip Jorgensen in the goal, despite his expensive mistake in Villa Park, but will be without a defensive Trevoh Chalobah, who fell after just eight minutes.
“He had a check yesterday and it will be about a week in 10 days,” said Chalobah’s Maresca.
“On the one hand it is good because it is not a major injury, but on the other hand it is a shame because we are losing another player right now with the amount of injuries we had.”
Chelsea remains without recognized center forward with both Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu injured.
