Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has hit back at Wayne Rooney after the former Manchester United forward criticised his rotation policy.
Maresca made seven changes from the team that beat Tottenham 1-0 on Saturday for their Champions League clash with Qarabag in Azerbaijan on Wednesday evening.
Chelsea struggled as a result, trailing 2-1 at the break before three halftime substitutes saw Chelsea return to London with a point following a 2-2 draw.
Rooney made his feelings clear on Maresca's chopping and changing, which he believes is ultimately hindering the progress of the London side.
He said on The Wayne Rooney Show: "The players want to play, they want to build relationships.
"When you keep chopping and changing, then the players won't be happy. I think that will come back to bite them.
"If they are getting results all the time then you can't question it but if they're not, there has to be questions asked."
Chelsea face winless Wolves in their final match before the international break on Saturday night and anything other than a win will lead to further scrutiny.
Maresca, though, in the pre-match news conference was bullish on his team selections and insisted that in the long run it will be for the benefit of the squad and Chelsea on the whole.
He said: "We are in a moment, in an era, where anyone can say what they want. I completely respect [it].
"I also said after the Qarabag game that, since I joined the club, it's also my view to rotate players, and no one complained, the moment that you don't win games, I can understand no one is agreeing.
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"I think that when the rotation is Andrey Santos -- Brazil international player, Jorrel Hato -- Holland international player, Estêvão -- Brazil international player, it's not about rotation.
"They are good, talented, young, and for sure, when they are young, you have to give them the chance to make some mistakes to be better.
"The same thing I think happened in the past with Josh Acheampong, but I understand that when you don't win games, the problem is rotation and all different things."
Chelsea currently sit seventh in a congested Premier League table, which sees Manchester City in second and Aston Villa in 11th separated by just four points.
With two wins, a draw and a defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Chelsea are 12th in the league standings, level on points with Barcelona, who they face at Stamford Bridge on Nov. 25.
Maresca's side have already played 16 games this season and with so much football to be played between now and the season's conclusion in May, the Italian doubled down on his need to rotate -- citing the season as "like a marathon."
"I think football at this moment is a bit different than previous years in terms of physicality and intensity.
"For me personally, it is impossible to play with the same players 65 games in the same season.
"Years before, it wasn't this physical; I played, and now it has changed. So you need to rotate.
"This is my personal view, and you need to do that if you see a season like a marathon, then when you are in February or March, then probably we have to think in a different way.
"But at the moment, I think you have to think like a long race."