hackneyfox
Roofer
Injuries
“Kasey is still out. Jamie’s back. Ricky could be involved in the squad tomorrow. Dennis could be involved in the squad tomorrow.
The only one 100 per cent fit is Jamie. Then Ben Nelson is injured from the national team and Tom Cannon got an injury during the international break.”
“The problem with Kasey is the same as last time so we need to be careful with him so that he can come back and not get an injury again. Hopefully it can be soon.”
“It’s a short injury (for Cannon). For sure he’s out for Bristol City and Norwich, but he could be back for Birmingham. (For Nelson), it could be a short injury.”
Maresca's initial reaction to Premier League charge and EFL embargo
“Finally we can have a relax over the international break, but it’s been quite intense. The only thing we can focus and think is about the game. The rest we can’t control. The club is in charge of that.”
“In two days we receive the first one from the Premier League, the day after from the EFL so it was just a week where we required to relax mentally. But it’s something we cannot control. It’s something the club is in charge of and we’ll see what happens.”
Maresca's message to players over Prem charge and EFL embargo
“For me it’s quite clear. I try to be honest with you and it’s the same with the players. Can we control the EFL embargo or the Premier League points deduction? No. So why should I spend energy on this? It’s the same for the players. Guys, we cannot control these kinds of things. The only thing we can control is the way we play.”
What Maresca did over the international break after rare time off?
“We tried to recover players like Ricky, who was injured. Wilf was back but left for international games. He played twice. This international break the focus was about recovering energy. We tried some new solutions in case the game required it, the game in general until the end. Hopefully not.”
Maresca on Bristol City, Easter fixtures, and promotion race
“Now we have nine games to go and every game will be difficult because every team is playing for some target. Teams are playing for promotion and for the play-offs. Every game will be tough.”
“Now it’s to go game by game. If you think about Monday, probably you will lose the focus on tomorrow. The focus is on tomorrow. Then we’ll think about Norwich. 46 games is something unbelievable in a difficult league. But it’s the league we belong to so we need to adapt. We said this year you need around 100 points, something that never happened in the past. But the good thing is that we are in a perfect situation. We are happy where we are. We just need to finish well.”
Maresca on convincing players not to waste energy on PSR charge and embargo
“It’s also my duty to try to convince them of that (not to waste energy thinking about). We also trust our club and our lawyers for this kind of situation. Also I can see the players are quite focused on our final target.
“No (they’re not talking about it), to be honest. Probably some of them didn’t even know about it! I said many times that the noise is outside, not inside. Even thinking about our last games, when we lost three, there were many noises about that. But inside there is no noise. These things are normal, so the noise is outside.”
Maresca on falling off top spot and going into weekend in second place
“No. Before we were playing to win games and we continue that. We have one game in hand. At the moment, the goal difference is for Leeds. Because of the amount of games in a short period, you don’t have time to see the table. You just have to win games.
“It’s 25 years I’ve been involved in football. The mentality is not to win the league with 10 or 15 points more than second. I respect Leeds, I respect Southampton, I respect Ipswich. I know that until the end, they are going to be there with us. That’s why I said it was not the reality. What they (the players) have done is something incredible. Winning 19 of 23 in the first half is something not normal. Also Leeds, I think in the last 12 games, they have won 11 and drawn one. Fantastic. They deserve to be where they are now, with us.”
“Kasey is still out. Jamie’s back. Ricky could be involved in the squad tomorrow. Dennis could be involved in the squad tomorrow.
The only one 100 per cent fit is Jamie. Then Ben Nelson is injured from the national team and Tom Cannon got an injury during the international break.”
“The problem with Kasey is the same as last time so we need to be careful with him so that he can come back and not get an injury again. Hopefully it can be soon.”
“It’s a short injury (for Cannon). For sure he’s out for Bristol City and Norwich, but he could be back for Birmingham. (For Nelson), it could be a short injury.”
Maresca's initial reaction to Premier League charge and EFL embargo
“Finally we can have a relax over the international break, but it’s been quite intense. The only thing we can focus and think is about the game. The rest we can’t control. The club is in charge of that.”
“In two days we receive the first one from the Premier League, the day after from the EFL so it was just a week where we required to relax mentally. But it’s something we cannot control. It’s something the club is in charge of and we’ll see what happens.”
Maresca's message to players over Prem charge and EFL embargo
“For me it’s quite clear. I try to be honest with you and it’s the same with the players. Can we control the EFL embargo or the Premier League points deduction? No. So why should I spend energy on this? It’s the same for the players. Guys, we cannot control these kinds of things. The only thing we can control is the way we play.”
What Maresca did over the international break after rare time off?
“We tried to recover players like Ricky, who was injured. Wilf was back but left for international games. He played twice. This international break the focus was about recovering energy. We tried some new solutions in case the game required it, the game in general until the end. Hopefully not.”
Maresca on Bristol City, Easter fixtures, and promotion race
“Now we have nine games to go and every game will be difficult because every team is playing for some target. Teams are playing for promotion and for the play-offs. Every game will be tough.”
“Now it’s to go game by game. If you think about Monday, probably you will lose the focus on tomorrow. The focus is on tomorrow. Then we’ll think about Norwich. 46 games is something unbelievable in a difficult league. But it’s the league we belong to so we need to adapt. We said this year you need around 100 points, something that never happened in the past. But the good thing is that we are in a perfect situation. We are happy where we are. We just need to finish well.”
Maresca on convincing players not to waste energy on PSR charge and embargo
“It’s also my duty to try to convince them of that (not to waste energy thinking about). We also trust our club and our lawyers for this kind of situation. Also I can see the players are quite focused on our final target.
“No (they’re not talking about it), to be honest. Probably some of them didn’t even know about it! I said many times that the noise is outside, not inside. Even thinking about our last games, when we lost three, there were many noises about that. But inside there is no noise. These things are normal, so the noise is outside.”
Maresca on falling off top spot and going into weekend in second place
“No. Before we were playing to win games and we continue that. We have one game in hand. At the moment, the goal difference is for Leeds. Because of the amount of games in a short period, you don’t have time to see the table. You just have to win games.
“It’s 25 years I’ve been involved in football. The mentality is not to win the league with 10 or 15 points more than second. I respect Leeds, I respect Southampton, I respect Ipswich. I know that until the end, they are going to be there with us. That’s why I said it was not the reality. What they (the players) have done is something incredible. Winning 19 of 23 in the first half is something not normal. Also Leeds, I think in the last 12 games, they have won 11 and drawn one. Fantastic. They deserve to be where they are now, with us.”