It took longer than usual but Enzo Maresca staggered out of the Chelsea BlueCo machine dizzy, angry and perhaps confused as to how he now finds himself on the outside. November's Premier League manager of the month is now no longer a Premier League boss.

The official Blues statement thanked him for delivering the Europa Conference League and the impressive Club World Cup triumph, but sources believed to be from within the club briefed Sky Sports News the Italian lacked "mental fortitude and emotional maturity" - so much for those best wishes.

Perhaps, Maresca's mistake was over-estimating his influence at a club which has five different directors involved in recruitment.

His wish for a new central defender after Levi Colwill's season ending injury fell on five pairs of deaf ears, as did his purported demand for more experienced players.

Maresca's death knell proved to be his "worst 48 hours" comment after an otherwise unremarkable 2-0 home win over Everton.

Maresca may pore over his mistakes, on and off the pitch in west...