‘I want the best for Noni’ – Maresca on his criticism of Chelsea winger Madueke | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca says he wants to push Noni Madueke to be even better after criticising the winger’s levels in training after the win over Southampton.

Madueke scored in the 5-1 victory but after the game, Maresca said he wants to see more from the 22-year-old, admitting he “doesn’t like” the way he trains sometimes.

Adding to the comments ahead of Chelsea’s game with London rivals Tottenham, Maresca said: “Noni, like I said, overall he is working well since we started but sometimes he drops a little bit and he’s not allowed to drop.

“In terms of numbers, he is doing fantastic, goals and assists, off the ball when we ask him to defend and to press, he’s doing very well.

“The only reason I said this the other day is because I want the best for Noni. Probably the only way to get the best from him is to push him every time and the moment he relaxes a little bit, he is wrong.”

Maresca has also criticised Reece James in the past, insisting he wants more from him in terms of leadership.

But explaining his management style, Maresca insists he has close relationships with the players and that everything he does is because he wants the best for them.

“I try to be close to the players but sometimes even when you want to be friends, if you say something wrong to your friend, sometimes he is not happy,” he continued.

“But he has to know that what you say is because you want to take care of him. The only reason I said this about Noni is because I want the best for him.

“The way I like to have a relationship with the players is to be quite close. At the past at Leicester I had fantastic relationships with the players. This is the way I like to have relationships with the players and I’m trying to do the same thing here.

“The problem is if you say something they don’t like, they think you don’t want to be close, but a way to be close is to show them that I take care of them.”