Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca defended his side’s trajectory after a troubling dip in form cast doubts over the club’s qualification for the Champions League for a third successive season.

A 2–2 draw at home against a struggling Ipswich team on Sunday saw Chelsea fall to sixth place in the Premier League, with only a top-five finish ensuring entry into Europe’s premier competition.

Maresca’s squad secured just five victories in their previous sixteen league fixtures, which resulted in a marked decline following a promising start to his tenure at Stamford Bridge.

Supporters voiced increasing discontent towards the Italian manager’s patient, possession-based style, as disillusionment spread throughout the stands during his debut season.

Maresca appeared to imply that fan reactions had affected goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s choice to launch a long ball from a goal kick, which preceded Ipswich’s second goal.

Chelsea concluded the 2022/23 campaign in twelfth position and achieved sixth place the following season. Maresca, however, insisted that measurable improvement had occurred since his appointment.

“I think fans, they have to trust us, they have to trust the team, they have to trust the club, what we are doing now,” he said on Wednesday, prior to the second leg of Chelsea’s UEFA Conference League quarter-final against Legia Warsaw.

“This season we spent almost all our season in the top four. I think it's a big proof that the team is improving and is doing the right things.

“Now, is it enough? For me, no. Because I would like to fight with this club for titles, for the Premier League, for the Champions League. But at the same time, I think we have to be realistic and see that this team, this season, is improving. It's there in the numbers.

“Now we are not in the top five, so we are not happy. We are going to try to finish there. But it's proof that we are doing the right things.”

Maresca stood on the verge of reaching the UEFA Conference League semi-finals, with Chelsea holding a 3–0 aggregate advantage from the first leg. He planned to rotate his squad significantly against the Polish opposition to prioritise the upcoming league fixture against Fulham on Sunday.