The transfer window closes on Friday and only after that will our new head coach know exactly which players he has to work with for the rest of this 2024.

Maresca has already shown himself to be a flexible coach, and he likes positional and tactical versatility from his players. That is one of the reasons why he will not be reliant on a specific group this season; another key factor is that he does not wish his players to become complacent and drop their standards during the week at Cobham.

‘I judge and choose the first XI depending on how they work every day, all of them,’ Maresca explained.

‘If they are bad in training sessions and they don’t train with intensity, they are not going to play. If they don’t play on Sunday in the Premier League, and they think they’re going to play on Thursday, if they don’t train well from Sunday to Thursday, they are not going to play in the Premier League, and they are not going to play on Thursday.

‘Chelsea is a demanding club. You have to fight until the end to get your place. If you think I am going to give you a chance without working hard, forget it. The first XI is about performance. This is the way I like to work with the players.’

Whichever team he selects to play Wolves today, Maresca knows what a tricky task awaits. The Blues have a poor recent record in the Black Country, losing four and drawing one of our past six visits to Molineux.

‘It’s a difficult place to go, 100 per cent,’ he acknowledged.

‘Everywhere in the Premier League is difficult to go to and try to get points. We are going to try. Hopefully we can start getting some points in the Premier League, and from there building some momentum.’

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