Press conference notes as Maresca makes Leeds loss point and embodies QPR player
Inside Maresca’s press conference ahead of Leicester City’s trip to QPR, where they are looking to secure a ninth straight win that would equal a club record streak
Leicester City are heading to QPR looking to claim a ninth straight league victory that would match a club record, and yet Enzo Maresca can’t stop talking about the possibility of defeat.
With each win City pick up, the more adamant he becomes that a loss is around the corner. That’s even with his side heavy favourites this weekend against a QPR side that have lost five on the bounce.
Maresca said he “tries to be straight, clear, and honest” with his players to keep their feet on the ground, and that is coming in the form of constant warnings over slipping standards. Teams are waiting to pounce on their complacency, he believes.
“We are winning games but probably tomorrow we are going to lose and nothing has changed,” Maresca said at his press conference. “We need to continue on our path, the way we want to play, the way we want to improve.
“My personal opinion is that the only way to improve the team is to improve players. We need to be focused how we can improve them. You cannot drop a little bit, otherwise the opponents are there waiting for us.
“It’s a tricky game. It’s the perfect game after five defeats for them. It’s a big game, guys. It’s a big game for us. It will be a tough one, for sure.
“You have to feel like a QPR player in the moment. If you feel like a QPR player with five defeats in a row and the top team is coming to you, it’s the best game you can have. Because with one win, you can delete the five defeats in a row. So it will be a tough game, we have to be 100 per cent focused.”
Maresca makes Leeds point over Championship difficulty
But then there’s the other side to Maresca that has been seen a lot lately, one that doesn’t want his team to take for granted what they are achieving. Just because City are one of the biggest teams in the division, it doesn’t mean it is easy for them to win matches.
Maresca pointed to the routine victory over Stoke before the international break, with City dominant. The manager said his team were so comfortable because of how well they played, not because beating Stoke is easy, referencing the Potters’ recent wins over promotion contenders Sunderland and Leeds.
He said: “From outside, everyone can think that just because we are Leicester in the Championship, the wins are easy, but it’s not like that. Football, you can see, day by day, things happen.
“When we beat Stoke at home, everyone was thinking it was easy, and then Stoke beat Sunderland and beat Leeds. So it’s easy or not easy? It’s all about the players. The way they behave is unbelievable.
“That’s why we can’t drop. The moment we drop a little bit, they are going to wait for us and probably they beat us. If we continue to maintain the standards they have every day in training, we will win more than we lose games.”
Ceremony reminded Maresca of City’s status
There was a poignancy again to the press conference with Maresca attending a memorial service for the victims of the helicopter crash on Friday morning, with the club marking the fifth anniversary of the tragedy at the King Power Stadium.
During the ceremony, there was a video showing what City achieved during Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s time as chairman, and what they have been able to do since his son Top took over. It gave Maresca a reminder of how important it is to get the club back into the Premier League, where he feels they should be.
“For sure it has been an emotional morning,” he said. “At the same time, it was nice to remember all of them. The legacy they show and continue after the tragedy, it’s very important. In football, it’s not easy to find it. We have to be proud of that. We need to protect it, because it’s something unbelievable.
“When we were there at the ceremony, with people talking and watching some videos, you realise how important this club is and how important it will be to bring this club where they belong. At least that, then we can feel better.”
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