Enzo Maresca tips Chelsea to 'dominate English football' despite coy title verdict

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has poured cold water on the bubbling talk that his team are title contenders but he’s adamant his squad have the quality to eventually rule English football.

The Blues boss is echoing the sentiments of former Chelsea chief Jose Mourinho, who once bemoaned his “little horses” weren’t ready to gallop to league glory.

Yet Maresca is bullish about the longer term future and has been crystal clear with the club’s top brass from day one, predicting a blue-tinted domination of the beautiful game in England over the next decade, regardless of who’s at the helm.

Maresca revealed: “It’s 10 years ago since he [Mourinho] said that. I don’t know what kind of animals we are. For the last 20 years I have always had at least one golden retriever.

“Puppies? No, in this moment we show we are there competing well. I still think of what I said to the owners and the sporting directors the first time I met them.

“Because of the age, and because of how good the squad is, for me Chelsea in the next five to 10 years will be one of the teams or the team that is going to dominate English football.”

“This is what I said this to the club the first time I met them. No matter who will be the manager, for the next five or ten years, because of the age, the squad, you can dominate English football – and I still think exactly the same.

“In terms of a target they didn’t ask me for any target, only to try to build something important for the next years.

“I think we are in the right direction. In terms of a personal target, I know you struggle to believe but I’m not focused on end of season, next season, because it’s not real.”

Chelsea, currently level with Arsenal in the league standings and boasting one of the youngest squads in the division, have only been bested by top-tier teams like Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City since February.

However, Maresca predicts a challenging phase ahead. Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s clash with Southampton, the Italian said: “We have to be ready for sure. A different moment will come. We have to manage that.

“In the moments when we lose games, people are going to still doubt. I know how it works. But it has been a good six months.”