Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that the qualification for next season's Champions League is an important goal for his team.
His side is currently sixth in the Premier League table with 13 more rounds of competitions left.
The top four will automatically qualify for the Champions League, while the fifth is probably also sufficient, because England is currently leading the UEFA Association Club -coefficiëntranglist.
Chelsea not only wants to secure the Champions League qualification qualification, but hopes to add an important European title to their list of distinctions by winning the Europa Conference League this season.
Maresca spoke at a press conference on Friday morning, only a few hours before the draw for the Tour of the Conference League of 16.
He said to reporters: 'We often said that we almost spent the season in the top four and to go with 13 games, the target is certainly top four.
'We will do our best to achieve that. Knowing the difficult moment we have now is one of the main reasons why is because of the injuries situation. Five or six important players out. '
Asked to work out his goals, he added: 'I am here to win games – to bring this club to fight for titles. The problem is that when you win games, you look modest and when you don't win games, you look like a lack of ambition. Since the first day it is my intention to bring this club where it should be. '
Maresca admits that he focuses on a top-four finish, apparently an important back track of his earlier claims earlier in this season.
In August he said: 'What I can say is that none of the club asked me for the Champions League this year. Nobody said we should end in the first four. What they said is that we have to arrive and step, step by step. '
After the first half of the season, Chelsea had looked closely on course for a top-four finish.
However, they have only won two of their last nine league games.
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