‘Need To Be Patient & Take Our Chances’ – Maresca’s Huddersfield Preview

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‘Need To Be Patient & Take Our Chances’ – Maresca’s Huddersfield Preview

Enzo Maresca is proud of Leicester City’s performance throughout December and is aiming for a New Year’s Day win when Huddersfield Town make the trip to King Power Stadium.

2024-01-01T07:00:00.000Z

by Matthew Temple

Published

01 Jan, 2024

‘Need To Be Patient & Take Our Chances’ – Maresca’s Huddersfield Preview

Enzo Maresca is proud of Leicester City’s performance throughout December and is aiming for a New Year’s Day win when Huddersfield Town make the trip to King Power Stadium.

Matthew Temple

2024-01-01T07:00:00.000Z

‘Need To Be Patient & Take Our Chances’ – Maresca’s Huddersfield Preview

Enzo Maresca is proud of Leicester City’s performance throughout December and is aiming for a New Year’s Day win when Huddersfield Town make the trip to King Power Stadium.

Matthew Temple

2024-01-01T07:00:00.000Z

‘Need To Be Patient & Take Our Chances’ – Maresca’s Huddersfield Preview

Enzo Maresca is proud of Leicester City’s performance throughout December and is aiming for a New Year’s Day win when Huddersfield Town make the trip to King Power Stadium.

Matthew Temple

2024-01-01T07:00:00.000Z

‘Need To Be Patient & Take Our Chances’ – Maresca’s Huddersfield Preview

Enzo Maresca is proud of Leicester City’s performance throughout December and is aiming for a New Year’s Day win when Huddersfield Town make the trip to King Power Stadium.

Matthew Temple

2024-01-01T07:00:00.000Z

It’s been non-stop action for Maresca’s side, who have played seven games over the last month without seeing defeat, which concluded with a 2-0 win over Cardiff City on Friday evening.

Extremely proud of how the Foxes have continued to thrive under this pressured environment, he spoke about defensive colleagues James Justin and Hamza Choudhury and the effect they had in south Wales.

“I’m very happy with the performance against Cardiff for one reason, that the effort from the players, considering the amount of games we’ve been playing, was unbelievable,” the Manager stated.

“To play two games in a row is very difficult, and playing every three days, so I think the Club needs to be happy with this, and as a Manager I am proud, as should the fans be. We are fighting and the players are showing the desire to win.

“JJ (James Justin) deserved the goal, we are trying to manage him because of the injury last season, so he won’t always play. The situation is the same for Ricardo [Pereira], but JJ and Hamza [Choudhury] deserve the plaudits.”

With 20 wins from 25 games and finishing the calendar year with an eight-point lead over second-placed Ipswich Town, it's form which brings delight to the Italian, who went on to talk about Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho, and his likely absence on Monday afternoon.

“To finish the year with more than 60 points wasn’t expected, me included,” Maresca continued. “But I’m very happy. Now, we need to continue this form.

“Kelechi [Iheanacho] had a muscle problem two days ago, and we are still waiting to see if it is very serious or just a matter of days, but I doubt he’ll be ready for Huddersfield.”

Many might seem surprised at the lack of changes needed or at least made by the former Manchester City coach over a busy time in the schedule, but he explained to the media how his style of play, when executed correctly, can help with sustaining energy levels.

In a long season, where Leicester have just clocked over half-way, you need to be able to adapt to every occasion, but Maresca is making it his mission to stick to the Foxes' newfound identity that has brought them success over the first five months.

He added: “We could make more changes, but because of the way we play, we keep the ball as much as we can, allowing the opponent to run a bit more, so when you have this number of games, you can also manage the physical aspect.

“When you run for 90 minutes behind the ball, absolutely you’ll struggle playing every few days, but if you manage the ball, you can dictate tempo and have more energy playing over the season.”

Monday’s opponents find themselves towards the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship, having most recently seen defeat to Middlesborough, but Maresca expects a strong defensive unit to meet them on Filbert Way.

The first day of 2024 also sees the winter transfer window open for business, and after multiple probing questions, Maresca denied any guarantees of how his squad will look come February, but is happy with how his squad is looking right now.

“They (Huddersfield) play five at the back so it will be another team where we’ll need to be patient and take our chances when they come,” the Italian voiced. “They have had some good wins so it will be a difficult game.

“The players that we have now, before the window opens, I am happy are here. But once the window happens, anything can happen, it’s not just about individuals, I would like to keep the team momentum, but the window is strange.”

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