Enzo Maresca has insisted he will not punish Chelsea players for red cards, even though he admitted their disciplinary record must improve. The head coach was speaking ahead of Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Ajax, for which Chelsea will be without the suspended João Pedro.
Chelsea were reduced to 10 men for the fourth time this season when Malo Gusto received a needless second yellow card late in Saturday's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. The club have collected 28 yellow cards in all competitions and sit bottom of the Premier League's fair play table, with Maresca himself having served a touchline ban at Forest after being sent off against Liverpool this month.
Maresca acknowledged that Gusto's dismissal for a late tackle was avoidable, saying: "It's something that we can do better. The last one is completely avoidable, because it's 0-3, the game is finished. For sure there is something that we have to improve." He added that the challenge stemmed from a desire to preserve a clean sheet.
Asked whether he would punish his squad to stamp out bad habits, Maresca said: "I'm not that kind of manager to punish players. I don't think it's the right way to do things. I prefer to help them to understand, and then do the right things... I have four kids and when they do something wrong, I don't punish them. I try to teach them to do the right things. I try to treat the players in the same way. I think the players have a system inside the changing room, so a fine is something that they manage."
Maresca hopes Enzo Fernández will be available against Ajax after missing the Forest game with a knee injury, while Liam Delap is close to returning to training following a hamstring problem. With Delap and João Pedro absent, Marc Guiu could lead the line for Chelsea, who have won one and lost one of their opening two Champions League matches.
