Maresca 'playing with fire' by taking on fans

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is losing sections of the fanbase and it is beginning to hurt performances on the pitch.

The Italian has done little but stick to his same principles and straightforward language - which made him popular when Chelsea were second on 35 points and two points off Liverpool after 16 games.

However, the Blues have picked up just 20 points in the 16 league matches since and - after the draw with Ipswich - qualification for next season's Champions League is in real doubt.

That decline has been impacted by injuries, an unsettling January transfer window and the loss of form by key attackers like Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson.

Yet, it has also unsettled a fanbase used to winning trophies under Roman Abramovich but now at risk of not qualifying for the Champions League under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for the third consecutive year.

Many are unconvinced by the American consortium given the downturn in results, and that has affected the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge ever since the takeover.

The volume has been massively turned down in home games and Maresca has, on dozens of occasions, encouraged supporters to make more noise this season.

Chelsea's backroom staff and fans have come together to establish a singing section, which is being expanded to 150 seats in the Shed End against Legia Warsaw in the Conference League on Thursday.

But supporters are also increasingly responding negatively to Maresca's patient, slow style, which involves defenders and goalkeepers playing short passes out from the back, an approach not traditionally associated with Chelsea.

According to Maresca, chants of "attack, attack, attack" have affected players, which he says partly led to Ipswich's second goal on Sunday when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez went long instead of short with his passing.

"The second goal, we decide to play long, because the environment is there, and we concede the second one. You have to be strong, you have to continue with the things that you are doing," Maresca said post-match.

video going viral on social media shot from the Matthew Harding End showing supporters jeering their team as they play it around the defence to find an opening between Ipswich's lines, leading to a turnover and a chance for midfielder Jens Cajuste.

Some supporters have defended Maresca's comments, while others are angry at being partly blamed for conceding a goal. But whatever your view, the Blues manager is playing with fire with his comments and the season on a knife-edge.