"I am serious" - Enzo Maresca's message to Leicester City players after Millwall defeat | OneFootball

Highlights

Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca has warned his players that they shouldn't look at the league table following their loss to Millwall.

The Den played host to the Foxes last night, but they were eaten up by a bit of pure quality from one of the Lions.

Ryan Longman got the ball on the counter-attack in the 59th minute. He cut inside and curled a pearl of a strike past Mads Hermansen and into the top corner. This, plus some top defending from his teammates, was enough to clinch a vital three points for Neil Harris' side.

Leicester, on the other hand, lost out on a good chance to re-establish their lead at the top of the second tier. Leeds' draw with Sunderland meant that they didn't overtake the Foxes last night, and Ipswich could take the lead in the race for automatic promotion if they win tonight against Watford.

Even though they didn't lose any places like that, City's boss doesn't want his players to obsess over their league position.

Enzo Maresca's league position plea to players

The Italian has urged his team not to look at the Championship standings because it will drive them: "crazy."

He said, after the loss to Millwall, via Leicestershire Live: "Now it’s a matter of not giving too much importance to it. I said the same after Birmingham and Norwich: there is no time to think too much. Tonight is gone.

"I am serious, if you watch the table yesterday, and you watch tonight, and you watch again in two days, you get crazy. You know you have to think game by game and win games. That’s it.

"I think the last eight or 10 games, it’s similar for all of the teams in terms of you struggle a bit more because all of the opposition are playing for a target, to survive, to get promoted, to get into the play-offs. So every club is playing for some important target.

"The intensity is higher and we have played more or less 50 games already. It’s a problem for us but for all of the clubs. At the end everyone is struggling a little bit more."

Maresca also reflected on his team's missed opportunities in the game, including two headers from Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka. "It was a tough night," said the 44-year-old.

"Because we are playing every three days, we expected in the second half to find more space and solutions. But they found a fantastic goal. We’re going to analyse the game in the right time. But now the focus is to recover the energy and try to go again on Friday."

Leicester's chance-creating troubles could be their downfall

The Foxes dominate the ball in pretty much every game they play; that is the Maresca way after all. They have the second-highest average in the league for possession percentage per game (61.8%), according to FBRef.

But they are only fifth in the Championship for shot-creating actions per 90 (25.6), behind the rest of the current top four, plus Sunderland, as per FBRef.

The insistence on playing in the controlling way, instead of a way that is more focused on trying to score, does play into this, but there has also been an element of frustration with finishes from the Leicester players; case in point, Daka last night.

His header was a good opportunity to test the keeper. Instead, his effort was skewed wide.

Whether it be inconsistency from the attacking players, or a case of them being out of rhythm due to a lack of chances, which comes back to the manager's style of play, Leicester need to get back to their more free-flowing attacking ways to avoid a play-off run.