Carragher issues stark Maresca prediction after cryptic 'worst 48 hours' comment

Jamie Carragher said he expects Chelsea to replace head coach Enzo Maresca before next season after he made a thinly-veiled jab at the club’s hierarchy in a press conference.

Speaking after Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat of Everton on Saturday, Maresca made the surprise revelation that the lead-up to the match had featured “the worst 48 hours” of his tenure with the club, prompting speculation as to the strength of his relationship with those above him.

Carragher was not convinced by later claims he was happy in his job, though, suggesting the Italian had let last season’s trophies go to his head and pointing out he was hired as a head coach rather than a manager.

"I don't think Maresca's manager at Chelsea next season,” he explained. “When you come out and speak about your ownership like that and you speak in public, that's a big problem.

"I am a big fan of Maresca but it looks like there's a bit of a power play starting, and that never bodes well, especially for a manager.”

He continued, adding that Maresca had fooled no one with his cryptic comments.

"And it's not uncertain [who he is speaking about], he's speaking about the owner and the sporting directors.

"I think this is a classic case that we see at a lot of clubs now where you have a head coach, not a manager, and sporting directors.

"What you get is the coach comes initially and agrees to the terms and conditions, but then he feels like he's done a really good job, and he's done a great job getting Champions League football last season, winning a European competition and winning the Club World Cup.

"Slowly, the manager feels like he should get more power. He'll be really disappointed that Chelsea didn't go and get a centre-back in the summer when Levi Colwill got a big injury.

"So in the last few weeks the results have just turned on Maresca a little bit. He's calling something out and wants something in the public, which I do not agree with.

Carragher also compared Maresca’s line to Mohamed Salah’s remarkable outburst in which he accused Liverpool of throwing him under the bus for a poor run of results.

The Liverpool great went on: "This is not as extreme, but it is a similar sort of situation. I don't like people going public, whether it is a manager or a player. You sort it in-house.

"But the problem for Maresca is if he continues like this, there will only be one winner, and it's not him."

“The one thing you can't throw at Maresca is he's not capable at this level.

"There is still that question mark over whether [Ruben Amorim] is capable of coaching at the highest level against the best coaches in the Premier League. I would not say that about Maresca.

"For Maresca to have done what he's done so far, and that is what makes him feel confident enough to try and take the owners or the sporting directors on, because he feels he's done enough.”