Kasey McAteer opens up about Enzo Maresca’s move to Chelsea and explains the players-only meeting

Chelsea should treat the appointment of Enzo Maresca as a “real privilege”, Leicester City winger Kasey McAteer has said as he reflects on the manager’s one-year spell at the King Power Stadium.

Maresca’s move to Stamford Bridge was finally announced on Monday, with City now looking for a new boss to lead them into the Premier League campaign. But while the club said they were “disappointed” by Maresca’s decision to leave, McAteer had nothing but positive words to say about his management.

The 22-year-old is grateful to the Italian for giving him the opportunity to break into his boyhood club, while he feels he can speak for the team by saying that every player has improved under him. His work rate was also praised.

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McAteer told The Byline: “Moving from us to Chelsea, you’re going to get a guy who will give you 100 per cent. I saw him every day. It’s really something I’ve never seen before and my teammates will say the exact same thing. They have never worked under a manager who was so knowledgeable and so good at what he does. It is a real privilege for Chelsea to have him.

“I have no doubt that anyone who works under him will learn a lot, because I can personally say that I learned a lot. The other 20 guys in the locker room also learned something from him. He is very hardworking and has a desire to get better and make better players. I can give him a lot of praise for that.

“The time I had under Enzo was a pleasant one. I had three injuries last season, which was tough. But he never made me feel like I was out of the picture. I was always in the picture. I am so grateful for the chance Enzo gave me. That’s not going to change.”

McAteer also tried to minimize the team-only meeting before the final games of the season. After defeat in relegation battle Plymouth sparked anger in the stands and with City’s promotion bid faltering, senior members of the squad held a players-only meeting.

But McAteer said it was not a case of going behind Maresca’s back to try to correct the club’s form, it was simply a case of the players wanting to talk directly to each other.

The winger added: “We weren’t worried about it (form) because we all believed in the process. He had brought us this far. Something had to change, whether it was a matter of mentality. We all respected what he (Maresca) wanted us to do. We persevered and finally succeeded.

“It wasn’t a meeting where we felt we had to take control. It was just a meeting where we thought we needed to say some things that needed to be said away from the staff. A manager can say so much, but sometimes he has to be led by the players.

“Conor Coady, Jamie Vardy, Marc Albrighton, Jannik Vestergaard, all these senior professionals who have had top careers, they’ve really driven it. The gaffer appreciated that this happened because we could say a few things to each other as teammates. The gaffer respected that.

“But it was always an open thing, where if I had something to say in a meeting or about tactics, that door was always open. With player management, he was very open, very honest.

“As a former player, he said he always wanted the coach to be straight with him, that’s how he thought it should be. So if he had something to say, he would say it. It wasn’t personal, I was there to do a job. Everyone has things they can work on.”

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