As Leicester City embark on the new campaign, beginning 2023/24 with a home fixture against Coventry City, the new Foxes Manager provided insight into how their preparations have materialised...
Style of play
Implementing a new system is not straightforward and while Sunday’s 12pm BST kick-off is a first chance to see the Foxes in competitive action under Maresca, the Italian knows there is still work to be done for the Sky Bet Championship season to be a success.
“I know that it is not a quick process because the idea is completely new,” he told reporters stationed inside the King Power Centre at LCFC Training Ground. “But with the way they are working, I am quite happy. There is a lot of work to do, for sure, 100 per cent. But we can see day-by-day, that the team is improving.
“Since the first friendly game that we played, the team is always getting better. In the last friendly game, unfortunately the result is always important, but for me, it was also important to see how the team received the idea and, to be honest, in the first half an hour (against Liverpool) we were brilliant.
“It’s quite clear that in our idea, wingers are very important, because most of the time we put them in one vs. one situations, so we were looking for a winger that is good in one vs. one and likes to stay wide, not coming inside. [Stephy] Mavididi is one of those players. He was one of our targets but unfortunately only arrived a few days ago.”
Being best prepared
Providing analysis on Sunday’s opponents, Maresca referenced the stability of having Mark Robins at the helm of the Sky Blues over the preceding few seasons, while also concentrating on the need to start positively in front of the Blue Army.
“We need to be ready, for sure,” the 43-year-old said. “The difference between us and the rest of the clubs, for instance Coventry in this case, is that this team are working with the same manager for the last five or six years. In football, it’s a big difference.
“First of all, they have proved that they are a good team. They played in the play-off final for the Premier League. It’s a team that try to play and also it’s difficult to face that type of team because they usually defend with a line of five. And when you have to attack against that, there is less space.
“But we’re going to try and find solutions this weekend. We know that it’s a big derby. We start at home, probably the stadium will be full so it will be a great environment and hopefully we can give our fans, ourselves and the Club a good start.
“We need to start well and in the right way, absolutely. But I don’t feel any pressure because as I’ve said, at the moment, the only pressure I feel is that I want to feel the team improving.
“The Club is ambitious, I’m ambitious too, the players as well. We all want the same target, to get promoted. But it’s not an A, B, C – it’s more dynamic. My feeling about the Club is that nobody puts pressure on me to get promoted.”
Leaders in the group
The news that defender Conor Coady will miss out on the opening game of the season is a blow, but Maresca insists they will be plenty of other players on the pitch who are capable of stepping up to that role. He also discussed the role of Club Captain.
“I think it’s something that the team has to decide about, the Captain,” Maresca stated. “But for me Jamie [Vardy], Marc Albrighton, Conor Coady, Ricardo Pereira – these kinds of players, even if they don’t have the armband, they are leaders. We have four or five players who all can be leaders and can be Captain.
“One of the reasons why we decided on [signing] Conor Coady was first of all because he’s a good player. He can help us a lot and especially because we knew he was a real leader. But unfortunately, we have lost him for a while. That’s not good for us.
“Since day one we built the idea around new players and Conor was one of those. We have different players, but it’s a big shift, for sure. He is the kind of player that even in the friendly games, you can hear his voice.
“Every time he is talking with everybody. At the end, when you have these kinds of players on the pitch, it’s always good news for the manager and the rest of the team. But about the transfer market, I always say the same, the situation is that many things can happen.
“In our case, for sure our squad is not finished. I think eight or nine players already left and there’s five new players. But it’s something that is a working progress at the moment. If we need more, we’ll see.”
A mentality shift
Leicester must focus on the current situation, rather than previous achievements, in order to give themselves the best possible chance of an immediate return to the Premier League, the former Manchester City assistant believes.
He explained: “We are Leicester, just relegated, so it’s normal, but there are many clubs who all want the same. This competition, the Championship, I know very well for many years. It’s a very strong league. I think this year that are many clubs that in at least the last 10 years have been in the Premier League. It will be very competitive.
“I’m quite sure that if we think about winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield years ago, that will be a big mistake for us because in this moment, the only thing we have to think is that we are a Championship club, not a Premier League club, and forget about that.
“For the fans, for the Club, it’s history. Nobody can touch that and now the reality is completely different. It is not about what you have done in the past. It’s about what you do now and the future is completely different from previous seasons.
“Leicester in the Championship is completely different to Leicester in the Premier League. All the clubs want to try and win against us here. We need to realise the present and we need to adapt as soon as possible to a new competition, new stadiums, new opponents.”