Enzo Maresca told Chelsea's critics to "f-off" after beating Nottingham Forest on the Premier League's final day to secure Champions League qualification.
Levi Colwill's 51st-minute tap-in was enough to secure fourth place on a tense afternoon at the City Ground in which the home side ended in seventh place and earned a Conference League spot.
Chelsea will now play in Europe's top-tier club competition for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign despite using the youngest average line-up in Premier League history -- 24 years and 36 days -- during the season.
Maresca used the achievement to hit back at his detractors lamenting the club's reliance on youth, questioning their mentality and style of play.
"I didn't have any doubt about the players," Maresca told a post-match news conference. "The doubt was from outside. All the ones that have the answers or the ones that have the truth, they were saying that we are too young, we are not good enough, they we were waiting for Aston Villa to drop points for us to achieve the Champions League.
"They were saying that we were not able to win on this pitch [at Forest] because we are too young, because we are not experienced. Unfortunately for them, they have all been wrong.
"All the ones that have the truth and have the answer to everything. So in English, how you say? F-off to all of them, because the players deserve that. The effort they have been doing is fantastic."
Forest started the day with Champions League hopes of their own but defeat meant they finished just a point outside the top five. Next season will mark their first European campaign since the 1995-96 season.
"We didn't achieve the dream," Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo said. "Our first half was really good, we created many problems and had chances but it wasn't enough. The anxiety in the last minutes didn't help us.
"We are proud and we go again. You know that one goal can change everything. the improvement of the players is huge, the platform of the club is good. If you ask me, it's a good season because of the commitment of the players."