Enzo Maresca has called for the rest of his Chelsea team to step up and ease the pressure on the ‘struggling’ Cole Palmer who is ‘upset the club are not winning games’.
Palmer has not found the back of the net since the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth in January and has gone 13 games without providing an assist.
His dip in form has coincided with Chelsea losing their way in their pursuit of a top four finish with the Blues dropping from fourth to seventh, losing their third game on the bounce against Aston Villa on Saturday night.
With his number dropping off, Palmer’s performances have lacked their usual sparkle, cutting a somewhat dejected figure at Villa Park.
During one breakdown in play after trying to slide a ball through for Christopher Nkunku, the England international was seen throwing his arms in frustration, a worrying sign amid the club’s poor run of results.
But speaking ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League clash against Southampton, Maresca insisted he is not concerned by Palmer’s recent issues.
‘I’m always concerned about general performances, but I’m not concerned about Cole because he is a human being,’ Maresca said.
‘During the season he can have some moments where he is struggling a little bit more.
‘The problem with Cole is probably that we rely on him for everything. I said since we started that we need to rely on the team. For sure we need big players, top players like Cole but we are not worried about him at all.’
Defending his player, Maresca added: ‘He just needs to continue working in the way he is working.
‘The other day he had a great chance but overall the performance from Cole, every game we expect from him a goal or assist, so it’s difficult. He’s a human being.
‘In this moment his performances reflect a bit the team’s performances, that we struggle to score goals. We need to be a little bit more clinical when we get the chances.
‘Cole is just upset because we are not winning games, no more than that.’