The Japan Times - Maresca says Man City 'more together' after financial charges

The club overcame a hostile Anfield atmosphere to beat 10-man Liverpool 3-0 last week in their first match since the verdict to make it six league wins out of six.

City boss Maresca said after the win the team needed to make their own "noise" to drown out the distraction of events off the pitch.

The Italian was bullish at his press conference on Friday despite this week's 4-2 defeat in the Champions League by title-holders Paris Saint-Germain.

"I think probably since the noise we can see, I can see from my personal point of view the fans, the club, the team more together for sure," he said.

Manchester City, who maintain their innocence, are appealing against the guilty verdict, delivered by an independent commission.

Maresca, who has repeatedly reiterated his "trust" in the club hierarchy, said he understood the intense focus on the issue but he warned against a rush to judgement.

"I don't have any problem with people judging the situation -- I think from my point of view the wise way to judge the situation is always to wait for the final words," he said.

"But I can understand that now people need to speak about this situation."

A home win over Ipswich on Saturday would make Maresca the first manager in Premier League history to win his first seven games in charge.

The list of those who have had six straight wins includes his celebrated City predecessor Pep Guardiola, who achieved the feat in the 2016/17 season.

But former Chelsea boss Maresca, whose team are three points clear of defending champions Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, insisted his focus was not on personal achievements.

"To be honest I'm just focused on how we can win the game that gives us the opportunity to go seven games in a row, so 21 points that is important, so this is the only thing that I'm trying to be focused on," he said.

"These kind of records, I think they can be good if at the end of the season you achieve something, otherwise they are not important. But for sure the main focus for me is how we can try to beat Ipswich tomorrow."

K.Yamaguchi--JT