Progression The Aim – Maresca’s Pre-Millwall Words
While the magic of the FA Cup is not lost on Maresca, who first experienced the competition as a player in 1999, he acknowledged the need to rest some of his squad for this weekend’s third round tie at The Den, owing to the number of games they have played in such a short space of time.
‘A fantastic competition’
Maresca was on the Manchester City coaching staff as the Citizens lifted the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium last season, which offered the Foxes Manager insight into just what the tournament means.
“It’s a fantastic competition,” he told reporters in his pre-match press conference on Friday. “I really liked it last year to reach the final and to be a part of it. I know how important it is and how nice it is.
“I realised last year how good it is. To arrive at the semi-final and final at Wembley, it’s fantastic the environment. It’s a nice trophy. Tomorrow we are going to try to win the game and progress in the competition.
“In Spain, the Copa del Rey is more or less the same. It’s also important and fantastic and you can also see the environment and the stadium. In Italy, it is a bit less, but for sure the FA Cup is the most important one.
“It’s also nice because it gives everyone the opportunity to join and I think this is fantastic. It’s the same key as the Championship, to try and win games. We’re going to try tomorrow exactly the same, the key is always to win games.”
An eye on Millwall
Maresca expects the Lions’ improvements to continue under new manager Joe Edwards, with the capital club providing a tough test when they visited King Power Stadium in the Championship last month, much earlier on in Edwards’ tenure.
Since that game, the London club have remained unbeaten in five, winning their last three matches without conceding a goal to move into a respectable position in the league standings.
The Italian explained: “As you could see already against us, they were trying to change some things with the new manager. But now they are getting much better. I watched them in their last games and you can see it clearly, so it will be a tough game.
“We are going to change several players tomorrow because we are giving some chances to other players who haven’t got many minutes, so they will have a chance tomorrow. At the same time, we will give some rest to players who have played almost every minute this season.
“For me, the squad is only one. But because we have 24-25 players, we like to give all of them chances to get minutes. We’ve already done that in the Championship because we have had four games in 10 days and the players need to recover energy. At the same time, we’re going to use all the squad and also give them the opportunity to get minutes.”
‘Happy with the squad’
Following the departure of goalkeeper Daniel Iversen to Stoke City on loan until the end of the season, the 43-year-old also mused on the rest of the January transfer window and what it could potentially bring, with Leicester looking well set for a successful second half of the campaign.
“We are happy with the squad we have,” he added. “At the same time, in my personal opinion, when you are strong, if you can get stronger that is better. That is the target, to become even stronger if there is the opportunity, but sometimes you are not allowed to do it. In this moment, with injuries, it’s not only about getting strong, it’s also about numbers.”