Enzo Maresca says Leicester fans have been brilliant - UNTIL now

Leicester City head coach Enzo Maresca has given an interesting quote to say the least. Following another disappointing result, this time falling to Bristol City, the Italian claims that Foxes fans have been brilliant, until now. This will annoy sections of the Blue Army, some of whom vented frustration after the latest loss. Other Leicester supporters shall take the comment it in their stride, understanding the message and continuing to cheer for their club's hopeful promotion. Foxes of Leicester also make a few suggestions for Maresca and the LCFC team.

The Leicester faithful are entitled to their opinions, and can express them in any way they wish. Within reason, naturally. At this very moment, much of the loyal Foxes fan base will be disenchanted by the side's recent performances. Not to mention certain supporters of the east Midlands club clearly becoming tired of some of manager Maresca's decisions, tactics and an unwillingness to try anything different or new on the pitch.

While Maresca's absolute devotion to a kind of Championship version of the Pep Guardiola system is laudable and has gotten Leicester to third (the King Power outfit could be top as they have a game in hand), he may not have the appropriate personnel to execute the strategy. Some players have struggled to fill the so-called inverted fullback role, such as Hamza Choudhury, in my opinion. And other similarly placed players like James Justin don't seem quite themselves.

There are some Foxes who have taken to the rather elite styling: Harry Winks, at times, and the often impressive Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, among others. Yet Maresca could be accused of being slightly inflexible during the testing and jam-packed 2023/24 campaign. Even when flying high atop the English second division, LCFC were coping with uneven displays and fine goal margins providing slight victories.

There are areas within the team which obviously should have been tweaked earlier. Or, potentially, positions might perhaps have been strengthened in January; don't even get me started on Financial Fair Play and Leicester's worries there at this stage. The former Manchester City coach has undoubtedly had a great season overall, I must say. He has almost been a revelation on Filbert Way. And this analysis may well be described as overscrupulous or excessively analytical - but that is our job here.

What Maresca must do is get LCFC loyalists on his side, especially following justifiable booing from the away fans at Ashton Gate. There are probably better ways to rally them than this:

"When Maresca and the City players went over to the away fans at the end, there were a few angry supporters expressing their thoughts. Here's Maresca on that reaction.

EM: 'I think the reaction from them is quite normal. You can understand. The only thing I can say is that, especially in this moment, we need them. They have been brilliant until today and we need them until the end.'"

I sympathise heavily with the supporters in Bristol on Saturday. Although, we all have the same goal: a Premier League return. Let's back the lads!