Maresca pre Middlesborough

[hackneyfox]

Maresca gives injury update with Albrighton and Iheanacho back​

“Marc is back. He starts to work with us. We’ll see for tomorrow. The only one is Ben Nelson. He had a kick against Watford and he’s still struggling a little bit. We’ll see for tomorrow.
“He (Iheanacho) is back. Yes (he’s available for selection).
“The good thing is that you can choose. The difficult thing is that some of them are going to be out of the first 11 and out of the squad. That is always not a good thing to do as a manager. At the same time, it’s not a good thing to accept that. It is what it is.”

Maresca on home form after 13 wins from 16 games at King Power​

“We said in the last press conference that in terms of home and away, we are quite balanced. This is good for any club. When you win at home, in your stadium, with your people, it’s always a good feeling. But in this moment, it doesn’t matter if we win at home or away. We need to win games.”
“It’s very important (to make the home ground a fortress). It was one of the main things to do for us. Even for the players who were here last year, when you play at home with your fans, and the mind is still about last year, it’s not good.”

Maresca on Boro after losing away fixture against Carrick's side​

“My feeling is that we need to be top, otherwise we will struggle. They are a very good team with a very good manager. Last year they did fantastic, this year they have struggled a little bit more, also because they changed some players. But overall they’re a very good team. After the defeat the other day, their manager said they had a lack of ambitions and the game after is always a tricky one because the players want to show the ambitions. We need to be at our top level. We can’t drop anything in terms of humility.
“We analyse the final result and sometimes you win a game and you think everything is okay, but sometimes you don’t deserve it. In that game (away at Boro), we analysed the final result, which was not good, but the performance was probably one of our best performances of the season.”

Maresca on Winks importance as one of five team needs to play well​

“For me, in the way we want to play. The three and the two when we build, these five players allow you to play well. The other five allow you to win games: the wingers, the attacking midfielders, and the number nine. The guys that are in the three and two, and Harry has been in there every game, they allow us to play well. If they work well, probably the team is going to play well. If some of them, they are not in a good day, it’s difficult. Harry since we start has always been there. This is the reason why, for him and for some other players, it would be impossible.”

Maresca on man management and how to deal with squad of players​

“It’s a huge part for sure. I always say the same, they are human beings. They have friends, a mum, a dad, like all of us. They are human beings and you need to treat them in the right way. With all of them, I try. Sometimes good, sometimes not good, but for sure it’s a huge part.”