Every word Enzo Maresca said on Delap return, Guiu not training well and Chelsea vs Sunderland

Enzo Maresca has just completed his pre-Sunderland press conference ahead of Chelsea's eighth Premier League fixture of the season.

The Blues welcome the high-flying Black Cats to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon as Marescalooks to guide his side to five victories on the bounce in all competitions. Just over 24 hours before kick-off, Maresca has just spoke to the media in his pre-match presser, and below, Bobby Vincent has compiled the full transcript:

Injury news? And is Liam Delap close to returning?

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Yeah, we don't have any new injuries. Liam took part in the session yesterday with the team for the first time, so he's not going to be available for tomorrow game, but probably for the next match.

So a little bit ahead of schedule?

Well, the schedule also can change a little bit, it depends how they improve or get worse. The first time they said to me that he could be available for the 25th of October, so today is 24th, 25th.

So he can play next week in the cup possibly?

Yeah, he can be available.

How do you approach it coaching so many young players? Do you actually enjoy that side of it? You've got the ability to kind of mould these guys for evermore?

Yeah, I said after the game that it was a special night, especially for the club, for the fans, with so many young players. I said many times that they are all good players, talented players and the main thing for me is just to try to help them day by day, how they can get better and better and also for me personally it's the only way to improve the team if you are able to improve players. So this is the main target with young players.

And when you say help them day by day, clearly it's coaching but what else do you do to make sure these guys are going to be at the very top of their time?

Again, just try to help them first of all to understand the way we want them to play and also we have especially the coaching staff, with all of them, especially after the session we dedicate time to them to try to improve because first of all they are young, they need to improve, it doesn't matter the age because even the ones that they are a little bit more older they need to improve but for sure if you want to improve the team you need to improve players.

How difficult is it to tell a young player they aren't playing?

No, the balance for me is quite easy in terms of we have 24-25 players, good players but at the end only 11 can start but I think since I joined the club I showed that it depends on the game, depends on the plan, we used to change players so I know that when they don't play they are not happy but it's not just about one, it's about all of them but they also know that they cannot play every game.

And what sort of conversations are you having with him because you must say to Estevao, you're 18, you want to play for the next 10-15 years, how does that go down with a kid who's just on the verge of becoming a superstar?

It's with Estevao but it's almost with all of them, it doesn't matter the age because with the ones if you say to, I don't know, to Tosin that he's the oldest one, that he's not going to play, he's not happy. So it's not about the age, it's about that when they don't play they are not happy but again they have to understand that they cannot play every game.

What have you made of Sunderland?

I think they show since the season starts that they are a very good team, they play together, they work together, they play as a team. Also in terms of results, they have the same points as us so they are showing how good they are doing since they started and the game, it's a Premier League game, I don't think there is any game that can be easy, they are all difficult games.

Have you been surprised about Sunderland's start?

I spent one season with Leicester in the Championship and I love the Championship, so even if we play Premier League or Champions League, I always watch the Championship, so I watch Sunderland since last season when the new manager arrived. They are doing very good not just from this season but from last season. They play good football, they are quite strong, physically strong, so I really like the way they are doing things.

How is Marc Guiu's development coming along?

Marc is a typical number nine, you will see physically strong, he is a box player, again he is [born in] 06, he can improve and he can do many things better and we are working with him every day to help him and as I said many times, he is going to play games with us. Then in terms of Joao [Pedro], we know that he can play as a No.9 or he can play as a No.10, in both positions I think Joao is very good but probably when he has another No.9 next to him, he is playing better.

Did you have to chat with Guiu after he came back from Sunderland about his role?

We had a chat with Marc two weeks ago, I told him that the way he was training I didn't like and he needs to change. He changes and he got a chance, so it is like that.

What didn't you like about the way he was training?

He was not training well.

In what way?

In all the ways.

He wasn't giving enough commitment?

In all the ways.

And why do you think that was for a young player?

I don't know, that's why young sometimes they are in one way, the other way so you need to go slowly, slowly with them but since we chat, it's top, it's fantastic, it's working very good.

Is he ready to start a Premier League game?

Absolutely yes, he's ready to start.

Is it possible for Guiu to go back to Sunderland on loan in January?

We are in October, I don't know, I don't know also because in football things can change very quick for everyone, for players, for managers, for everyone so it's very difficult to say.

Sunderland a different challenge?

The challenge is always the same, try to win the game, knowing that there is another team that also they want the same, they want to win the game and they want to try to create a nice situation, a different situation for us.

There is a lot of attention on Estevao. What are you doing to help him cope?

We are, to be honest, we have Andrey Santos and Joao Pedro but they are helping him a lot because they are already new from a different time so they are helping him a lot. Us as a staff, as a club, we just try to help him, to give him all the attention that he needs, not just with Estevao, with all the young players that they come from abroad but we said the other day he's a special player, the good thing about him is that he just thinks about football, he enjoys it, he's happy and also, again, his family is doing a fantastic job in terms of the way they grow him up.

What did you make of Enzo Fernandez giving the penalty to Estevao vs Ajax?

It's very, very good. I told the players after the game that for sure we were very happy about the winning, about the three points against Ajax but the main thing about that game was Enzo, when he gave the ball to Estevao we got to show how is the team in this moment, how they are all together in terms of togetherness, in terms of effort and this is what we need if we want to try to do something important.

What targets did you set for the players at the start of the season and do you revise those expectations as the season goes on?

The target with the players since day one is try to work hard every day, try to improve yourself, that is the only way to try to achieve something important. Last season we achieved Conference League, Club World Cup, a top four that I think no one of you in this room at the beginning of the season expected, so it was very important and this season when we started the season it was exactly the same. Try to work hard, improve yourself, try to understand how we can do things better day by day than at the end of the season we see.

Do you personally have a more concrete idea of outcomes at the end of the season?

I'm just like the players, I say this to the players but I also say this to myself, try to improve, try to analyse, try to study, that is the only way that you can improve and you can achieve something important.