Although we haven’t quite been able to carry the form which saw the Blues record eight wins in a row across all competitions before Christmas into the New Year, Chelsea have won two of our last three Premier League fixtures.

Which means we remain in fourth place in the table going into Friday evening’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion, two points ahead of Manchester City and four behind Nottingham Forest.

‘I have said the same since day one. I am not looking at May or June. I am looking game-by-game at how we can improve - only that - so we will see at the end of the season.’

Whether Champions League qualification is achieved this season or next, that is where Maresca believes this club deserves to be, and he remains pleased with the progress towards restoring that status he has seen from his Blues side so far.

Although we suffered a setback in our elimination from both domestic cup competitions, we are still in contention in the league and in Europe, due to our fourth-place position in the Premier League table and comfortable progress into the last 16 of the Conference League.

‘Unfortunately we are out of both the domestic cups, but our journey in the Premier League has been fantastic until today, and in the Conference League it has been fantastic until today. We are going to try and finish in the best way we can.

‘Don’t forget in the last two years Chelsea has never been in the top four, and this year we have spent almost the whole season in the top four. That shows that we are going in the right direction.

‘Now we are going to try our best to finish where this club belongs to be, back in the Champions League.

‘We are going to try our best, then we will see at the end, but our journey in the Premier League and the Conference League has been fantastic until today.’

The Italian also understands the urgency from supporters who want to see the team back at that level as soon as possible, but has asked for patience. Enzo insists that everyone at the club is determined to have Chelsea back at the very top of the game, even if it is not a process that can be achieved overnight.

‘The fans are 100 per cent fair and 100 per cent correct,' added Enzo. 'I grew up watching Chelsea winning many games and competitions, but this Chelsea is not the same as that one, because we are not ready to compete in four competitions in one season at this moment.

‘I can completely understand the fans, because it's normal that they think in that way when you have seen your club over the years competing for titles. Our goal, our duty, is to bring this club to compete in four competitions and try to win four competitions.

‘I’m confident we will get there. I have said many times that this club can compete for titles for the next five or 10 years, no doubt. In this moment we are in the process of arriving in that position, but we are not ready after six months together.

‘We are all ambitious. I try to be ambitious every day, I try to convince the players every day that this club belongs somewhere different to where we are now, and the fans have to trust that we are in the right process.

‘Our fans are amazing and we need our fans. We understand them, because this club should be fighting for important titles every season. For a while we have not been doing that, but we are going to bring this club again to compete for them.

‘But this is not something that you can reach in six months. You need to go step by step.’

The next step in that journey back to where Maresca believes we belong can be taken this evening, with the chance to further consolidate our place in the Premier League’s top four by picking up three points in Brighton, while giving the Blues players, staff and supporters an opportunity to celebrate together at the American Express Stadium.