Enzo Maresca spoke to the press ahead of Manchester City’s game against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday evening.
Enzo Maresca has insisted that he and his Manchester City squad must focus on leading the Premier League table.
If Arsenal fail to beat Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Citizens will remain top of England’s top flight regardless of what happens when they face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday evening. Manchester City are expected to receive a particularly hostile reception on Merseyside.
During the international break, an independent commission found the club guilty of all charges of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules over nine seasons spanning 2009/10 to 2017/18, as well as most charges of failing to co-operate with an investigation.
“Manchester City” filed an appeal in early October. Speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend’s clash, the former Chelsea boss defended his players and insisted he and his players are focused on staying top of the table.
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“Looking at the environment in the last few days, I’m not worried,” Maresca said, according to the Manchester Evening News. “At the moment we are on top and the players have every reason to be happy and excited.”
Maresca added: “It’s a matter of being together, staying together. That’s the situation, the noise at the moment. We’re on the same page. Like I said yesterday, we need our fans and hopefully we can celebrate the win.
“Ruben [Dias] and Erling [Haaland] pressure needs to be controlled. Yes, there is noise, they go home happy and they are the top of the league.”
Asked if he would resign, Maresca said: “I will talk about it when we win the appeal. There is no point in talking. I understand why you are here, because you want to hear something.”
“I won the Championship with Leicester, League One, we’ll see,” the Italian said of what he would do if Manchester City suffered a significant drop and were subsequently relegated from the Premier League.
“You can’t avoid it, we fully understand the seriousness of the situation. It’s our duty, our job, to focus on the games,” Maresca said about the accusations that overshadowed the season.
On the hostile reception at Anfield, he said: “It will be a tough game, a tough test. We have to be ready. The focus has to be on the team; it could be worse depending on the situation.
“They can absolutely face the pressure. We have players like that [atmospheres]. We have Enzo Fernandez. Every game in Argentina is like this.”
And on how the squad handled the guilty verdicts, Maresca said: “Just try to manage the noise. We understand the seriousness of the situation, the noise. We just have to manage it. We have to go to Anfield and win the game.”