When “Enzo, give us a wave!” got an airing in the last round of the Carabao Cup at Burton, the Leicester City manager, bemused at first, turned around and saluted the fans singing it.
At Prenton Park, the chant went ignored by the City boss, in the first half anyway. He was so engrossed in his team’s performance that he was oblivious to any frivolities in the stands.
That’s perhaps because, as he made clear at full-time, he wasn’t happy with certain players’ performances in the first period. He expected more. City were not poor in the first half, but they weren’t good either.
There have been times in City’s run of victories where creating chances has been a struggle, but there was particular dearth of goalmouth action in the first 45 on the Wirral
Four changes were made at the break and some of those were because players were underperforming. It showed that even with the score at 0-0 on the back of a five-game winning run, there is no room for complacency. Standards have to be kept, and Maresca made that clear.
He could have afforded not to take such a stance. City’s quality may have come through anyway in the second half and they could have moved into the third round of the cup all the same. But if he didn’t nip it in the bud now, there’s more chance of complacency creeping in during Championship fixtures, when there is less margin for error.
Maresca’s strictness has been mentioned by a number of players and was evident just a few days earlier in his decision to leave Wanya Marcal out of the squad at Rotherham. It is a trait that has developed since coming to City.
Callum Doyle has noticed it too. As the only player to have previously worked under Maresca, he can chart the differences between the Italian now and when he was in charge of Man City’s Under-21s a few years ago.
Asked if Maresca had changed, the defender said: “Yes and no. Coming to this big club, there’s a lot of pressure, so you’ve got to be more strict on how we play and how we act. But I think he’s got the same ideas.”
The past couple of seasons showed what happens when good players let standards slip: a team can fall from the brink of Champions League qualification to relegation in two years.
In the first month of this campaign, City have produced a level of performance that has at least put them in a position to win. So far, they have always come out on top. It means a baseline has been set for the rest of the season, and Maresca is not prepared for anybody to dip under it for even a second.
Fans make stance clear on duo
This was the final game before the transfer deadline and City supporters made their opinions clear on certain rumours.
When Kelechi Iheanacho went to warm up, his song was belted out by the 1,200 travelling fans. They don’t want him to go to Crystal Palace, or Wolves, or anywhere.
When Wilfred Ndidi then joined him on the touchline, a series of anti-Nottingham Forest chants were sung. For the midfielder, there is less of a clamouring to keep him, more so a desire to see him sold to a club outside of the East Midlands
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