Enzo Maresca has described Pep Guardiola's imminent return to the Etihad as 'his house' and says it is 'exciting for everyone' ahead of Manchester City's Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Guardiola, who resigned as City manager in May after 10 trophy-laden years, will attend the game. It will be the first time the Spaniard has been back at the Etihad since his emotional departure. Former assistant Maresca has taken over and guided City to victory in eight of his nine games in charge.
Guardiola's return coincides with financial ruling
Guardiola's return comes as City play their first home game since being found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, with the threat of a Champions League ban from UEFA also looming. Maresca says everyone is looking forward to welcoming him back.
"I spoke with Pep, as I said a few days ago, after the United game," Maresca told a press conference. "I didn't speak with him after that. In case he is coming, it is a nice feeling, especially for him, it has been his house for 10 years. It is still his house for what he has done here, I think it is exciting for everyone."
The Italian added: "I don't know if he is coming straight to the stadium or if he is coming to the training ground, I don't know - I don't have any idea. It is exciting for everyone, for the fans, but I don't know Pep's plans at the moment."
Maresca responds to criticism after Liverpool win
Maresca's pre-match press conference was dominated by questions about City's 114 charges, which the club deny and have appealed. City's players, coaches and supporters were criticised for celebrating Sunday's 3-0 win away to Liverpool, which kept them top of the Premier League table.
"Criticised for what? We won 0-3 at Anfield, what do you want us to do?" Maresca replied when asked about the reaction to those scenes. "And even if it was 0-1 it would be exactly the same. We, me here today, the players here today, want to win tomorrow's game. We work every day to win games. We can be focused.
"The rest is things from outside we need to deal with. We were so, so happy inside the pitch and you cannot imagine inside the changing room."
Dias backs the club
Ruben Dias sat alongside his boss and addressed the charges, speaking openly about how City's players are dealing with the situation. "Personally, and I really feel like I speak for the whole group, we trust the club," Dias affirmed.
"We're very calm and were very focused on enjoying football. We know the team we've got, we want to make the most out of it, we want to win, and that's the only thing in our mind. If there's more or less noise or whatever the reason the noise is, at the end of the day it's all the same, same as before, because people don't love us winning and we love to win."
