Enzo Maresca shares stance on succeeding Pep Guardiola at Man City

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Enzo Maresca said he does not think about Pep Guardiola as he explained how he is not intimidated by the task of following Manchester City’s greatest manager.

Guardiola stood down in the summer after a decade in which he won City’s first Champions League, plus six Premier League titles and two different trebles, while he has a stand named after him at the Etihad Stadium.

Former Chelsea manager Maresca, who used to be Guardiola’s assistant at City, took over but while the Italian is quick to call his old boss a “legend”, he believes the key is not to fixate on his predecessor.

Maresca’s City have won their last six games in all competitions, making a 100 percent start to the Premier League season.

And the Italian said: “For me to be in this club is a privilege and to be in this club after a legend like Pep is a privilege. I know if I don’t win it’s a disaster, and it’s normal, but I don’t spend my day thinking who was here before and for how many years.”

While Maresca was known at the Etihad from two previous stints on the coaching staff, the huge overhaul of the playing staff in the last couple of years means his job is not just one of continuity.

Senior players Bernardo Silva, Rodri, John Stones and Nathan Ake, who all worked with Maresca before, left in the summer.

And Maresca added: “The players are a completely different squad. There are three or four players from my last season here, and at the end I spend my day by day with the players so it’s something new. I’m happy because I can see that we’re improving.

“When I decided to join the club, I was quite sure that the club is a good club, the players are good players. At the same time, I knew that the club was in a moment of change after ten years with the same manager and Rodri, Bernardo, John, Ake. It’s normal that there is a change but at the same time I’m quite confident that we can do a good job.”

City face Sunderland on Sunday in what Maresca believes will be their toughest game of the season so far but with the boost that Jeremy Doku could be fit again. The winger has been out since the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal.