Former Chelsea -midfielder Emmanuel Petit destroyed Enzo Maresca for the disappointing season on his side and accused him of sending a 'very bad message' to the team.
The blues are in sixth place, two points behind Newcastle in the last berth of the Champions League, and remain strong favorites to reach the Conference Competition final after he had been pulled against the Swedish side Djurgardens in the semi-final.
But it could have been so much better for the men of Maresca who made a strong start of the campaign and stood in second place, only four points behind leaders Liverpool, at Christmas.
The West -Londers have since seen their form -including a series of only two victories in ten Premier League matches.
Petit, 54, who spent three years at Stamford Bridge between 2001 and 2004, has criticized the Italian boss for their problems.
“Maresca is probably responsible for a few things. First of all, he said that his team was unable to win the Premier League a few months ago and I think that was a very bad message he sent to his players, “he told Sambaslots.
Maresca insisted that his side did not propose the Premier League title, even though he only moved two points behind leaders Liverpool with a 2-1 victory over Brentford in December.
“It doesn't matter how many games we are going to win, I think we are not ready to compete for the title,” he said.
“That's why I keep saying that we are not ready for titles. Even if you don't believe me.
Petit, who won the Premier League with Arsenal and the World Cup with France, also hit Chelsea's players, including Cole Palmer.
“They are a good team with so many young players all together, but so far I am very disappointed about the performances, with many of them,” he added.
'Some players have been injured for months and other players have not performed so well.
'They have soaked so much money on some players and I am not happy with them at all. Cole Palmer has not been the same type of player since January.
“I think that many players do not take responsibility on the field and they show no character and personality to perform.”
'Some of them have been performed, I think of Moises Caicedo, for example Palmer, for example, was still the leader of the team until recently.
“Enzo Fernandez has improved much compared to last season.”
Although Cole Palmer 14 has scored competition goals and 9 assists has provided this campaign, he has not found the back of the net since a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth mid-January.
Chelsea remains the same with the seventh -placed Aston Villa on 57 points and organizes Everton on Saturday while watching the qualification of Champions League.