“Loser’s mentality” – Enzo Maresca’s low standards “dragging down” Chelsea claims pundit | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca is asked the same thing constantly in press conferences at the moment – about whether he thinks this team has progressed in his year in charge, and about whether he would be disappointed to finish outside the top 5.

He’s refined his answer over time, and now replies in the same way: this team wasn’t in the top 4 last season or the season before, while this season they’ve spent most of the year right up at the top, so even if they don’t make it, they have still improved.

It follows on from his comments earlier in the season, when the team were flying. Back then he kept insisting that they weren’t in the title race, and in fact would be happy to just finish higher than they did 12 months ago.

We hate both of those answers – for one they give the team limiting beliefs and excuses, and because they also ignore the context of the collapse of Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City this season. You can’t just finish one place better than last season and call it an improvement if the majority of your competition has got worse.

Pundits object to Maresca’s stance on season aims

Enzo Maresca speaks post-Legia defeat.

On ESPN’s football show today, Shaka Hislop agreed, and was flabbergasted by Maresca’s attitude and communication style:

“He is just dragging that [expectation] down, saying ‘we should not aim to shoot any higher than one place above where we finished last season… I find it really odd from someone who’s been in the game, to be sharing these sorts of messages when your team is in this position,” the former Premier League goalkeeper said.

Alejandro Moreno went a step further, saying these low standards were a sign of a “loser’s mentality.”

You can see Hislop speaking in the clip embedded here, with these quotes coming after 2 minutes: