Enzo Maresca is on a mission. The Chelsea head coach believes winning the UEFA Europa Conference League this season wouldn’t just add another trophy to the club’s cabinet — it would send a strong message to the footballing world: Chelsea is back.

The Blues head into the second leg of their semi-final against Swedish side Djurgarden with a commanding 4-1 lead from the first leg in Stockholm. With the final in Wroclaw, Poland, on the horizon, Maresca is taking nothing for granted but believes this competition presents a golden opportunity to re-establish Chelsea’s winning culture.

“Important, because we would be the only club in Europe (to have won every competition they have entered),” Maresca declared, underlining the significance of completing the clean sweep of UEFA trophies — Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup, and potentially now, the Conference League. “It’s important to start to build a winning mentality with this club.”

While some fans may turn their noses up at the Conference League — used to the glitz and glamour of Champions League nights — Maresca sees the competition as a crucial stepping stone in Chelsea’s resurgence.

“For me, winning a Conference League trophy this season is a statement where you can say ‘Chelsea is back’, because you win a trophy.”

He was candid in his assessment of the club’s current status: “If Real Madrid or different clubs didn’t play the Conference League, it’s because the Conference League is not the level they were at. If we play in the Conference League, it’s because that’s where we are.”

It’s a dose of humility mixed with realism — Chelsea are where they are because of past failures, but Maresca is focused on using the opportunity to spark a revival. “If you play in the Conference League, you cannot win the Champions League or the Europa League. The only trophy you can win is the Conference League.”

And that, for Maresca, is motivation enough.

“We are going to try our best to reach the final and then to reach the trophy. From there, it’s a good starting point to win games and trophies.”

There is no attempt to sugar-coat the situation. Chelsea aren’t where they want to be — yet. But a trophy is a trophy, and Maresca is determined to lift one this May.

He concluded: “We have to try to win this competition. Hopefully in the future we can be in different competitions, but at the moment the reality is the reality.”