(Reuters) – New Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca is looking to bring more aggression into the team to turn around the fortunes of last season’s Premier League under-achievers.
Twice Champions League winners, Chelsea languished mid-table for the majority of the campaign before a late charge under former manager Mauricio Pochettino secured sixth place and a place in the Europa Conference League.
Maresca, 44, guided Leicester City to promotion to the English top flight in his first season in charge.
“In this moment, when you join a club you try to analyse what the club and team needs to improve and do the right things,” Maresca said on Monday.
“For me, it’s clear we need to create as soon as possible the right mentality and culture, a culture the fans can be proud of.
“We are going to try to be an aggressive team on the ball and off the ball and we need to create this connection between the fans and the club, especially at home.”
Maresca is Chelsea’s seventh Italian manager and is aiming to follow compatriots Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte and Roberto Di Matteo who won six major trophies between them at the London club.
Gianluca Vialli, the Premier League’s first Italian manager, led Chelsea to their first appearance in the Champions League.
“One of the reasons for sure (I joined). I’m very proud to be an Italian manager here again. Probably there is something between Chelsea as a club, as a family, and Italian people that works well,” Maresca said.
In his first league match in charge of the team, Maresca will face champions Manchester City where he previously worked as an assistant to Pep Guardiola during their treble-winning season.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
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