Chelsea coach, Enzo Maresca has revealed that the club is not competing with Manchester City, and Arsenal to win the 2024-25 Premier League trophy.
The Italian manager has led Chelsea to five straight wins in all competitions, which has sparked early title talks at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have won seven out of their 10 opening games in all competitions, scoring 27 goals. They are also two points behind Premier League leaders, Liverpool.
He said: “I really don’t think we can compete with City or Arsenal.
“I really don’t think that because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things you need that time.
“After Arsenal beat PSG they asked Luis Enrique and he said the same thing that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and them only a year and a half.
“Imagine us, only three months, so it’s a huge difference. So I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs.”
Maresca has called for time and patience from Chelsea fans as he aims to rebuild the club’s fortunes.
He said, “The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that,” he added.
“There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”
Chelsea opened their UEFA Europa League Conference campaign with a comfortable 4-2 win over Gent at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, and they will return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The Italian manager also confirmed that there are no injury worries ahead of the clash.
“Chukwuemeka was in the squad [for Gent] but didn’t feel well during the night. He was ill. This is why he wasn’t in the squad [when the team-sheets came out].
“There is no update on the rest, everyone else is available [for Forest]. The only one who isn’t is Reece James, who is still out. The rest are available.”
Maresca will be hoping to lead Chelsea to a fourth straight Premier League victory against the in-form visitors.