Development is never linear; there are often ups and downs along a journey. Maresca is more than aware of that.

As his players continue to grow and refine their talent, the Blues head coach is prepared to deal with those peaks and troughs, and he pointed to our 4-3 win over Wolves as a perfect example.

We showed our quality in spades at Molineux by racing to a 3-0 lead before the break. But after the interval, we struggled to maintain our grip on the game as the home side fought back. We eventually claimed a 4-3 victory.

That secured our place in the final eight of the Carabao Cup, and Maresca feels that his side will only improve from experiences such as that against Wolves.

Speaking ahead of tonight's trip to Tottenham, he said: ‘During Wednesday’s game, the first half was completely under control. The second half, probably after the first goal we conceded, we panicked a little bit. I think it’s part of the learning process of this squad and this team.

‘Wednesday night, we had one player born in 2007, three players from 2006, four players from 2004, one player from 2003, another from 2002, and the oldest player born in 1997. So, it is all part of the learning process.

‘We took some risks, and I was told after the game that we had an average age of 21. So this is normal. They are young and they need to improve, they need to understand, and they need to live some experience to get better. For sure, in the future we are going to be fantastic.’

Our head coach did, however, point to our success over the summer as proof of the ability within the Blues’ squad.

‘No one expected us to win the Club World Cup because of our age, and we did it,’ he explained. ‘In the Premier League, it’s about consistency during the season, and the main target is to be consistent during the season.

‘We played against Wolves and we achieved a place in the quarter-final, and now we have Tottenham in the Premier League.’