Enzo Maresca says he will give Ruud van Nistelrooy “a big hug” before Chelsea take on Manchester United in the Premier League.
The Blues face Manchester United on Sunday but new Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim will not be in charge until November 11, meaning Van Nistelrooy will be in interim charge.
Maresca played with Van Nistelrooy at Malaga and is looking forward to a reunion this weekend.
“All the best to him [Amorim]. If the people in charge took that decision, it’s because they think it’s the correct one. All the best to him and Manchester United.
“I didn’t speak with Ruud. I will give him a big hug on Sunday before the game.
“He’s a fantastic guy, humble, very professional. I shared with him time when he was already finished but even then you could see how good he was.”
Maresca is without Jadon Sancho – who is on loan from Man Utd – and has no other absentees ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, where Chelsea have not won since 2013.
Chelsea are looking to bounce back from their Carabao Cup defeat at Newcastle United.
“We prepared the game to win, unfortunately we lost,” Maresca said. “We prepare every game to try and win.
“The reason we make changes is because we are all one team, they deserve to play.”
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One player who has been out of the team in the Premier League but started the 2-0 loss at St James’ Park is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
“The idea was to try also with Kiernan,” Maresca said when quizzed on Dewsbury-Hall’s role v Newcastle.
“We play a different shape against Newcastle to try and control the game a bit more. The plan was there and then we conceded a goal, in 10 minutes we lost the game. It could be an idea for the future.”
Moises Caicedo has been excellent in midfield for the Blues this season and is forming a nice partnership with Romeo Lavia, who is keeping Dewsbury-Hall and Enzo Fernandez out of the team.
“First of all, it’s a matter of balance,” Maresca added. “In this moment, Romeo and Moi give us physicality and strength in the middle. This is the reason why we found the option with Malo in the pocket.
“I show frustration with Enzo? I show frustration will all of them. Don’t only look at Enzo. I still trust Enzo. There is not any reason I can lose confidence in him.
“The reason he is not playing in the Premier League is because I take another decision but I have 100% confidence in him.
“I like to say that we don’t have an A team or B team. There are players that are fantastic players, but for me, we don’t have indespensible players.
“If Cole [Palmer] is not playing, we are playing Joao [Felix] and if Nico [Jackson] isn’t playing, we are playing Christo [Christopher Nkunku].
“The reason why we change players is because all of them are good. Some of them are better than the rest but it doesn’t mean they are always the ones that are going to play.
“You are looking for some different reasons for Enzo, but it’s simple: he is not playing at the moment but we have so many games in the future so it does not mean he is not going to play.”
Asked if Cole Palmer will produce against Man Utd after scoring a hat-trick against them last term, Maresca said: “I hope so. He is going to play. Cole is doing very good all of the time.
“If we expect 20 goals and 20 assists again, it’s probably wrong because we don’t need to put the pressure on his shoulders.”
