The former Liverpool defender says Chelsea's goalkeeper and defensive options aren't good enough to win the Premier League this season.
But ahead of tonight's Carabao Cup third round tie at Lincoln, Maresca retorted: "I think, as I've said many times, anyone can say what they decide to say. It's not a problem. I think we improved a lot last season.
"For instance, if you see the last three or four tables in the last three or four years, we closed the gap with the first one, two or three.
"For me, this season, the main target is to continue to improve players, continue to improve the team and try to close that gap. This is, for me, the main focus for this season."
On Lincoln tonight, Maresca added: "Even if these are the games that worry me most, because you can slip very easily in these kind of games.
"Football is full of these kind of games and I am very worried about that. But for sure we have probably some few players from the academy like we always have done."