After Chelsea’s poor performance against Legia Warsaw (a loss despite advancing to the Conference League semi-finals), the Blues have no time to dwell. The team’s focus is now on Sunday afternoon’s West London derby against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Enzo Maresca’s team travels to their neighbor’s ground with only six Premier League games remaining. Securing three points is crucial to stay in the race for next season’s Champions League qualification. Below are Maresca’s full remarks ahead of the match:

Advice to Cole Palmer during this tough period: “This is the first time Cole has faced difficulties. He is an extraordinary player, and all he needs to do is keep working hard in training. I’m sure he will start scoring again soon. I was told he scored 14 goals in his first 20 Premier League games. That’s an incredible number. He’s going through a rough patch now, but he must keep going because he will definitely score again.”

Reasons for the recent team slump: “There are various reasons. A dip in form is natural at some point in a player’s career. Palmer was outstanding last season. This season, as we’ve said many times, opponents are treating him differently. Often, they mark him man-to-man, which is tough for any player in the world.”

Romeo Lavia’s availability for the Fulham match and his importance: “Romeo is back and training with us. He could be available for Sunday. We’re managing him like Reece James. I’d love Reece to play every three days, but we’re handling him carefully to help him recover. We’re taking the same approach with Romeo because he’s an important player for us.”

Palmer’s performance despite heavy marking: “Despite the marking, he scored 14 goals in his first 20 games. For me, this is just a bad phase. Once he scores one goal, everything will likely change again.”

Reece James’ honest interview and his comments on leadership needs: “Absolutely, yes. He’s one of the captains and is responsible for these matters. I think he was partly right. Due to the first-leg result, we mismanaged last night. We accepted his words in the dressing room.”

Support from owners and sporting directors: “Yes, absolutely. There’s no doubt about it. I’m not going to be sacked.”

Management’s backing amid fan criticism:“I explained yesterday. We can’t change our ideas overnight. In the last two years, Chelsea were never in the top four or five teams. This season, we’ve been in the Champions League spots for almost the entire season. We’re in the semi-finals of a European competition. Why should we change anything now? I have no doubts about what we’re doing and our methods. We’ve had bad moments and defeats like tonight, but these make us stronger for the future.”

Decision on Sancho’s future at the end of the season:“We’ve told Jadon and all the attacking players they need to improve their goal and assist stats. Jadon has been better in recent games, but we expect more goals and assists from him, Nico, Cole, Noni, Pedro, and Enzo, who is doing well. His situation is similar to Andrey Santos’. Right now, I’m not thinking about next season or players who will be here next year. I’m only focused on getting the best out of them to finish the season strongly.”

Bad timing for the London derby? “No, not at all. There’s no bad timing now. There’s only the right time for every game. We have six Premier League games and two semi-finals. Eight official matches ahead, and all of them are important.”