Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has clarified his recent comments about Liam Delap, revealing that the suspended striker apologised to the team following his red card.

After Wednesday’s 4-3 League Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Maresca had said Delap was “playing the game for himself” and described the sending off as “embarrassing and stupid.”

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Maresca sought to put his remarks into context.

“I spoke with Liam, he knows everything, he’s aware of the situation, he knows that he made a mistake. Full stop. No more than that,” he told reporters. “Straight after the game, in the changing room, he apologised to everyone.”

Chelsea have received five red cards in their last nine matches, and Maresca admitted some were avoidable.

“It’s something we need to learn, something we need to do better. For sure in the future we will be better on that,” he said.

The Italian manager suggested his original comments about Delap may have been misinterpreted. “I’m not from England, so sometimes when I try to translate from Italian to English, it comes out a bit different,” he explained.

“Liam, on the pitch, is more focused on his battle with the central defender than the rest. This was what I was trying to say after the Wolves game. I know that Liam will be a fantastic player for us, but there are some things, like the rest, that he needs to improve.”

Maresca also provided a squad update ahead of the Spurs match. Chelsea will still be without Cole Palmer, but Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, and Joao Pedro are available.

Chelsea sit ninth in the Premier League, three points behind third-placed Tottenham.