But the identity that Maresca’s trying to instill — seemingly at the behest of his superiors — is an identity that is very hard to readily engage with as a fan. And when results are not there in the end to justify the means, there’s little reason to expect that engagement to increase (at least not in a positive way).

Chelsea are moving in the right direction and developing a playing style that will help them in the long run, coach Enzo Maresca said on Wednesday in an impassioned defence of his players who were jeered over the weekend.

Maresca told Chelsea supporters the club is heading in the right direction compared to the previous two seasons.