Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has doubled down on his decision to tell critics to "F off" in the aftermath of his side qualifying for the Champions League.
Levi Colwill's second-half goal earned the Blues a 1-0 victory over rivals Nottingham Forest that earned the club a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League table.
As a result, Chelsea are back at European football's top table with what was the youngest squad in this season's Premier League, a factor that generally led to media and pundits doubting their credentials in the short term.
That was largely a consequence of Chelsea wilting over the middle part of the campaign, posting just five wins and 20 points across a 16-game period.
However, the West Londoners concluded the season by accumulating 15 points from their final six games, a run that also included victories over Liverpool, Fulham, Everton and Manchester United.
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"Many people were talking"
Ahead of Wednesday's Conference League final against Real Betis, Maresca was quizzed on whether a "siege mentality" was building at Chelsea. While putting his choice of words down to an "outburst", he admitted that there had been added motivation to prove people wrong.
The Italian told reporters, as quoted by football.london: "I think it's a good feeling that the players react when there are some critics. So I think it's a good reaction from the players. Then Levi's reaction, my reaction, was just an outburst for the moment.
"And the reason why is because in our bad moment, or bad run during the season, in February, March, when we dropped points, many people were talking, and from our point of view, they were not talking in the right way.
"Probably if you ask them, they're going to say that from their point of view, they were talking the right way. But from our point of view, they were not talking in the right way. And the reason why is because, yes, we are young, yes, we are the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, but at the same time, they are men.
"So I also use that critics to say 'guys, today is a chance that we can say that we are not young, we are mature enough, we can compete, and we can do the right things'. So I think Levi's reaction, my reaction, different players that they react, it was just an outburst."
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'Chelsea have already had a good season'
Despite this being a third-tier competition, Maresca has often spoken about the desire to win a trophy, yet he feels that Chelsea can already claim to have had a "good season".
He added: "I said a few times during the season that for me, it was already a good season for different reasons. It can become a very good season if we finish top four, top five, and if we are able to win the final tomorrow.
"The first target is there, we achieved that last Sunday, and hopefully we can achieve tomorrow the same."
Chelsea head into the showpiece occasion in Wroclaw looking to become the first team to complete the set of European trophies having previously won the Champions League and Europa League. They also lifted the Cup Winners Cup before the competition was scrapped.
Darren Plant
