Enzo Maresca believes Manchester City’s supporters have grown closer to the club since the verdict against them over alleged financial rule breaches, and hopes the Etihad Stadium will be filled with inflatable bananas for Saturday’s visit of Ipswich.
City were found by an independent commission to have committed more than 100 breaches of Premier League regulations after an investigation into their finances. The club deny wrongdoing and have appealed against the findings.
The inflatable bananas, a familiar sight among City supporters during the 1980s and 1990s, have returned as fans show their support for the club amid the controversy. Maresca said he had been struck by the response and wanted to see more of the novelty items at the Etihad.
“It’s very nice,” the City manager said. “I didn’t know the history behind the banana, but I hope tomorrow I can see many bananas in the stadium. I think it creates a nice environment for the fans and for everyone that is in the stadium.”
Maresca said the reaction to the verdict had brought supporters, players and the club closer together. City won 3-0 at Liverpool in their first match after the commission’s findings, before losing 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The manager said he was pleased with how the club had dealt with the scrutiny and insisted his attention remained on results rather than matters beyond his control.
“I’ve said many times that I don’t feel any kind of stress about the outside situation, because it’s something that I don’t control,” he said. “I just focus on, again, how we can try to win the next game.”
Maresca also referred to comments from Ruben Dias about the reaction to City’s success.
“I think Ruben said that people don’t like City to win, but we like to win,” he said. “So I think that is a good message for everyone. I think probably since the noise, I can see from my personal point of view, the fans, the club, the team, more together for sure.”
The manager’s four children have also taken an interest in the inflatable bananas.
“They already asked me, but tomorrow they’re going to be at the stadium and we’ll see,” he said.
City’s current focus is to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season. They have won all six league matches since Maresca took charge and lead second-placed Arsenal by three points. Victory against Ipswich would give the Italian seven consecutive league wins at the start of his managerial reign, a record in the competition.
Maresca, however, played down the importance of the milestone and said the result against Ipswich mattered more than another entry in the record books.
“To be honest, I’m just focused on how we can win the game,” he said. “These kind of records, they can be good if at the end of the season you achieve something. Otherwise, they are not important.”
He also stressed that Saturday’s match carried the same value in the league table as the victory at Anfield, despite the attention surrounding City’s financial case and their European defeat.
“I’m very pleased. We handled it quite good, all together, the club, the fans, the team, everyone,” Maresca said. “But Saturday’s game is a three-point game, exactly the same points as Anfield. So that’s why it’s important to continue on our run and try to win.”
Maresca also acknowledged the need to manage the workload of Erling Haaland and other regulars who play for their countries as well as City. Haaland scored twice against PSG and has 10 goals in nine matches this season, but the manager said rest would be necessary at some point.
“At some point we probably need to give him rest, some days off,” he said. “We are thinking about this not just with Erling because we have players, unfortunately or fortunately, they are playing all the games with us and all the games with the international teams.”
He named Elliot, Enzo, Marc, Haaland and Dias among those who may need time off during the campaign.
Maresca also defended Enzo Fernández against perceptions of the midfielder outside the club. The Argentine has helped City win their first six league matches since joining from Chelsea, and the manager praised his character and professionalism.
“He is a nice person,” Maresca said. “He has a big heart and is a nice person. Polite, professional.
“Sometimes the image from outside is completely different from the reality. He is a top guy, with a great family – mum and dad, wife, kids. I know all of them. That’s why I have no doubts about that, he is a very good guy.”
