‘We Need To Be Ready’ – Maresca Ahead Of Millwall
The weekend’s results proved to be another twist in the Sky Bet Championship promotion race, with Ipswich Town and Leeds United both suffering defeat, which allowed Maresca’s men to return to the table’s summit while also holding a game in hand.
Heading to The Den for a 7:45pm BST kick-off, three days on from overcoming Birmingham City in dramatic circumstances, there is no time to bask in what could be an important three points.
‘This is the way we want to play’
While the significance of Saturday’s results were not lost on City’s Manager, he pointed to the importance of continuing to play in the right manner, even when it looked to be heading towards a frustrating draw against the Blues, eventually leading to Stephy Mavididi’s winner.
“I’m happy, especially for the way that we won,” the Italian said, speaking post-match on Filbert Way. “This is the way that we want to play. We played well all game, for 95 minutes. The team was controlling the game.
“We have a concept that when we have the ball and they don’t jump, they don’t come to press, we have to go close. He (Jannik Vestergaard) was just driving the ball the same as Wout [Faes].
“You see many times Wout was on the ball, going close and then playing with Abdul [Fatawu]. If you play from your position to Abdul, the players that are in front of you go with Abdul. You need to eliminate.
“Jannik was excellent. All the team were good. In the first half, we played some long balls which was a good option, but it does not have to be the only option. The football we were playing was very good and it was even better in the last 10 minutes.
“[Ethan] Laird, the full-back, played very good. Stephy was struggling a little bit to go one-on-one. The goal that we scored was a pattern that we see and, during the week, we tried with Abdul and Wilf (Wilfred Ndidi).
“The ball was fantastic from Yunus [Akgün]. I’m happy for him because he knows I like him but because we have more players, he has struggled to play this year. He completely deserved it. Stephy was in position. The ball arrived there and we scored a good goal.”
‘Make the difference’
The importance of every member of the squad is coming into play, with substitutes Dennis Praet and Yunus combining for Mavididi's winner on Saturday. Demonstrating an ability to overcome a different type of challenge gives further confidence in the patterns of play, according to Maresca.
“When they press higher, you have to attack quick," he explained. "When they sit back, you have to attack slow. But it’s a concept that sometimes we struggle to see because we want to attack quick.
“When you face a team who sit back, you need to be patient and then try to create the space and chances. When you are fighting for some target, you need 20 players. You cannot field just a first XI and the players who go inside sometimes, they have to make the difference.
“We struggled to defend a little bit with [Kyo] Miyoshi. Callum [Doyle] gives us fantastic [quality] on the ball. He knows the way we play, he was with me at Under-21s at Man City, but sometimes it depends a little bit on the winger in the other team. JJ (James Justin) was playing fantastic.
“The most important thing for us is to manage the emotion, which is something I didn’t do at the end of the game. The emotion at the end was not for the importance of the game. It was more because you there, you are close and you don’t score. Finally you score and you feel the relief.”
‘Go game by game’
Ahead of a third game in eight days, Maresca also offered some indication on team news, with the trip to the capital likely requiring some changes to the XI to keep players as fresh as possible for a fixture against another side fighting to avoid the drop.
“It has been very good,” he added. “But I’ve said many times, at this stage it’s a matter of controlling a little bit of balance, because when you win you are [high]. When you drop points, you are [low].
“For sure, we are going to make rotations because of three games in one week. It’s not easy. Until the end, for us, but for all the clubs, every game is important because you face teams who are playing for some target.
“They (Birmingham) were [fighting] relegation, Tuesday will be the same. But also play-offs or these kind of things, when you play to survive, it’s always a boost, so we need to be ready for Tuesday, which will be a battle 100 per cent.
“There will be long balls, second balls and if we are not ready, we can struggle. Now it’s Tuesday’s game, no more than that. Tuesday for us is like the last game of the season. We need to go game by game.
“We’ve said many times already in the last few weeks that we cannot think there is a next one. This is the way we need to think, otherwise it can be difficult.”