Former Chelsea manager reveals what could get Enzo Maresca sacked

Enzo Maresca. (Deposit Photos)

Former Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle has revealed what he believes could ultimately cost Enzo Maresca his job at Stamford Bridge.

After a strong start to the season, Maresca's Blues are enduring a poor run of form, winning just two of their last nine Premier League games and slipping to sixth in the table.

Their FA Cup hopes were also dashed by Brighton & Hove Albion, leaving them with little chance of domestic silverware this season.

Amid their struggles, a section of Chelsea fans has called for the Italian’s dismissal, while former player John Obi Mikel recently suggested that similar performances would have led to the sack in previous eras.

However, Hoddle – who managed Chelsea from 1993 to 1996 and endured similarly difficult periods – believes it’s not the results alone that could seal Maresca’s fate, but rather if he begins to doubt himself.

"You just have to stay focused on what your beliefs are. If you start doubting what you are doing, you are history, you are gone," Hoddle told The Athletic.

“Maresca will be hearing it [the criticism], but looking at him as a character, he can ignore it," he said. "Being a former player helps you cope with that, it teaches you to have no self-doubt. You have ups and downs as a player, injuries, bad form, and that is the life of a manager, too.

"You learn to respond to that pressure, it is in your DNA. But when things are not going great, that is when you really do your job.”

Maresca has endured a difficult few months as Chelsea boss. (Deposit Photos)

Hoddle went on to praise Maresca’s work, calling it "fantastic," but urged the former Leicester City boss to stop over-rotating his starting lineup and instead stick with a consistent team.

Due to a mix of injuries and tactical changes, Chelsea haven’t fielded the same starting XI in consecutive Premier League games since early November.

“There is a frailty there and injuries, too, but now is the time for a settled side," said Hoddle, who now works as a pundit for TNT Sports. “They need the same team week in, week out, so they can understand how to play together. He just needs to choose who it is."

"If Chelsea lose the first one, just go again," he added. "Not enough teams do that. If they get a couple of good results, the team will grow, and then the players from the bench know they have to do more to break into the XI."