Jamie Carragher says Enzo Maresca has created a "big problem" with his recent cryptic comments, and he does not expect the head coach to be at Chelsea next season.
Maresca sparked confusion on Saturday when he said the two days leading into the win against Everton had been "the worst 48 hours" since he arrived at the club last summer.
It came amid a defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday, which had left Chelsea without a win in four games.
The Italian offered little clarification on Monday either ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Cardiff, live on Sky Sports, saying he had nothing to add and was focused on the upcoming game.
It has further fuelled speculation that he was taking aim at the club's owners and sporting directors - something Sky Sports pundit Carragher is sure of - but he adds there is usually only one outcome from these situations.
"I am a big fan of Maresca but it looks like there's a bit of a power play starting, and that never bodes well, especially for a manager," Carragher said on Monday Night Football.
"I don't think Maresca's manager at Chelsea next season. When you come out and speak about your ownership like that and you speak in public, that's a big problem.
"And it's not uncertain [who he is speaking about], he's speaking about the owner and the sporting directors.
"I think this is a classic case that we see at a lot of clubs now where you have a head coach, not a manager, and sporting directors.
"What you get is the coach comes initially and agrees to the terms and conditions, but then he feels like he's done a really good job, and he's done a great job getting Champions League football last season, winning a European competition and winning the Club World Cup.
"Slowly, the manager feels like he should get more power. He'll be really disappointed that Chelsea didn't go and get a centre-back in the summer when Levi Colwill got a big injury.
"So in the last few weeks the results have just turned on Maresca a little bit. He's calling something out and wants something in the public, which I do not agree with.
"We spoke about Mo Salah last week. This is not as extreme, but it is a similar sort of situation. I don't like people going public, whether it is a manager or a player. You sort it in-house.
"But the problem for Maresca is if he continues like this, there will only be one winner, and it's not him."
When asked who will lose more from this situation, Maresca or Chelsea, Carragher added: "I think it will just be Maresca because we are talking about Chelsea, which is one of the coveted jobs in European football.
"However, the one thing you can't throw at Maresca is he's not capable at this level.
"We are talking about Man Utd and Ruben Amorim and there is still that question mark over whether he is capable of coaching at the highest level against the best coaches in the Premier League. I would not say that about Maresca.
"For Maresca to have done what he's done so far, and that is what makes him feel confident enough to try and take the owners or the sporting directors on, because he feels he's done enough.
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"I'm not sure he can do much more with the squad they have but going forward, where could Maresca go that is better than Chelsea? I'm not sure.
"Chelsea as a club will feel they could go and get another manager. But could they get someone better than Maresca? Maybe, but when you look at what is going on at Spurs and Man Utd in the last couple of years, you can easily go and get a manager who is not at that level.
"Maresca can go up against any manager, as he's proved, whether it is Pep Guardiola, Arne Slot and Barcelona in the Champions League. He is more than capable tactically and as a top coach."
All is not well behind the scenes at Chelsea
Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:
"It is now clear that all is not well behind the scenes at Chelsea. Maresca was given multiple opportunities on Monday to deny there were problems between him and the people he reports to at the club and he declined to say anything meaningful at all.
"What he did not say was just as significant as what he said on Saturday evening.
"Maresca obviously still stands by his claim that 'many people did not support' him and the team after last Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at Atalanta.
"Maresca has refused countless opportunities to disclose who these 'many people' are, but he has confirmed he was not talking about Chelsea fans.
"That just leaves the media and Chelsea's leadership team as the intended targets of his cryptic comments.
"By a rudimentary process of elimination, it is clear Maresca is talking about people inside the club because he enjoys a good relationship with the media, especially the reporters on the Chelsea beat.
"Maresca is clearly unhappy with something that happened after Chelsea lost at Atalanta. It is common practise for Chelsea's co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart to carry out a full debrief after every game.
"The Atalanta defeat was Chelsea's fourth game without a win and Maresca would clearly have had questions to answer about the performance and his decisions before and during the game.
"The bottom line is Maresca was happy to buy into Chelsea's management structure when he was appointed 18 months ago, but he now feels he is not getting the support and respect he deserves.
"By going public with his concerns though, however obliquely, he is playing a dangerous game. There is usually only one winner in situations like this and it's often not the manager - or head coach."
