Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca hailed his team’s character after seeing them regain control of the race for automatic promotion from the Championship. On a day when Leeds United and Ipswich Town both lost, the Foxes beat Birmingham City 2-1 thanks to goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and a late Stephy Mavididi header.
It means Leicester opened up a two-point gap on Daniel Farke’s side, with a game in hand, while they lead second-placed Ipswich by a point. Maresca’s men struggled to translate their superiority into a commanding lead, but he was pleased they stuck to their plans and didn’t resort to long balls.
“I just told the players I’m very happy, especially for the way we came through,” Maresca said. “We performed well throughout the whole of the game. Unfortunately we conceded right at the end of the first half but carried on in exactly the same way in the second.
“There can be a temptation to try and go long ball but we resisted that temptation. The big thing for us is to manage the emotions. That is the most important thing at this stage of the season.
“When we come to this point, things can move around a lot. Positions can change a lot. So it is important just to keep that focus, dominate the transitions, and keep doing the same thing. Show belief in what you are doing. We did that out there.”
With the Foxes returning to Championship action at Millwall on Tuesday, Maresca added: “We just need to go game by game now. That has to be the mentality. We are not looking beyond that. We simply focus on the next one and go from there. Then, when the season is over, that is when we look at our position.”
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