“A demanding club”: Why Leicester City fans are queuing to board the Enzo Maresca express
Leicester City fans have been in desperate need of a boost in energy and enthusiasm for a long time now. David Bevan is revelling in the spark provided by Enzo Maresca’s first words as the new man in town.
“The players that stay with us from last year, they need to change their mentality.”
To paraphrase the most famous commentary about Enzo Maresca’s previous club, I swear we haven’t seen anything like this for the past two years so read it, drink it in.
If the appointment caused some fans concern, given what little managerial experience he has wasn’t a huge success, surely a few of the doubters leapt on board the Maresca express as soon as it pulled into the station.
The energising impact has been instant and the contrast with the rhetoric from Brendan Rodgers in recent months and years is stark. This is why some of us wanted a fresh face - Enzo Maresca has a point to prove and he wants players to share that mentality.
“I consider Leicester City as a big club, a Premier League club. The reality in this moment says that we are a Championship club, so we need to have all the players with the same mentality thinking that we are in the Championship.”
If Maresca did his homework and knew before he stepped through the door at Seagrave just how much Rodgers alienated the fanbase with his talk of Minis and Ferraris then it’s impressive. If he didn’t and this mentality is just what’s naturally imbued in him, maybe that’s even better.
Either way, these are sure signs we have a leader in place who will be doing what’s right for the club and the fans, not for himself.
We also hopefully now know that players who don’t want to be at Leicester City will not be tolerated any more. There were vast numbers in this situation last summer who were not moved on - from star players to ones we would have driven to their next destination ourselves, in a Mini or a Ferrari or anything in between.
The words attributed to Timothy Castagne yesterday on Belgian international duty, regarding waiting for a big club and being able to play better football for Belgium than for Leicester, were again in stark contrast to what we heard yesterday evening from Maresca.
There are so many players we won’t miss when they leave this summer, even if those replacing them won’t be as talented. The mentality takes precedence now.
“We need to change something, and then, from there, to build something important. We know that when we build, because we have changed many players, always it requires time, but in the end, it’s exciting.”
Before Maresca’s appointment was confirmed, questions had already started among fans about whether the remnants of last season’s squad would be able to play the “tippy-tappy” football expected from the new man. It seems that Maresca has nipped that talk in the bud from the get-go.
Maybe he trawled Foxestalk, Bentleys Roof or Talking Balls as part of his pre-interview research - but probably not. This feels more like the kind of thing that helped him ace that interview - an acknowledgement that there won’t be tiki-taka terrorising the Championship from day one.
These are the words that calm any concerns about trying to change too much, too quickly. They bring welcome echoes of our last Italian manager with a strong footballing philosophy who changed very little at the start. Several months later, nobody could score against us.
“The players that we [bring] in, they need to understand that Leicester is a demanding club.”
As fans, we’ve been gaslighted for the past twelve months. We’ve been made to question what is reasonable to expect from our players. We’ve been told time and again - by two different managers - that the players care and that there was no lack of effort. What we saw on the pitch with our own eyes told a different story.
I want Leicester to be a demanding club. You want Leicester to be a demanding club. Now, finally, we have a manager who does too. The most encouraging thing here is that we can once again have confidence in the fitness levels among the squad.
It was something we missed off our list of 79 ridiculous things that happened last season because it feels intangible to a certain extent but we went into a Premier League campaign with a squad that didn’t look fit enough. The signs were there from day one against Brentford and towards the end against Fulham. We were constantly outworked. That has to change with 46 league games on the horizon and a physical challenge expected in the majority of those.
If the strong words of Enzo Maresca have caused one or two players to worry about what the future holds, there’s something else that might get them onside. The pictures accompanying every article in the press about his impending arrival have shown the rewards on display for hard work and commitment.
We’ve seen Maresca embracing Jack Grealish in the midst of one of the biggest, most public drinking binges ever seen from a professional footballer. We’ve seen Maresca alongside Pep Guardiola, cigars all round, soaking up the adulation. The message should be clear for our players: work hard, and you can enjoy the rewards.
Initial impressions should have swayed one or two fans who’d have preferred a more experienced manager. If you’re still doubting, let’s hope some new signings over the next few weeks are enough to up the enthusiasm levels. And for those of you already on board the Maresca express, let’s enjoy the ride.
NOW READ: The Leicester Way: Why Enzo Maresca is the perfect pick to lead City back to the promised land
