Tree hugger Robbo praises Roo grit
ENZO LOOKING TO TOP THE LOT AT XMAS
ENZO MARESCA is giving his players an early Christmas present... a glance at the Championship table.
The Leicester chief says his squad will be free to see how they are faring after the games against Birmingham and Rotherham.
To everyone else outside the club, the Foxes are doing just fine – they established a healthy lead over third-placed Leeds by beating Millwall in midweek.
Leicester – along with Ipswich – set a second-tier record by reaching a half-century of points after just 21 games.
Asked if he was happy for his players to talk about their lofty standing, the Italian said: “No, they have to look at the game.
“It’s not something important. Why do you need to talk about the table when in this moment it’s not important?
“If you go game by game, the table is probably nice to watch, but not now.
“After Birmingham and then Rotherham, we’ll see where we are and we can at least be a little bit more clear what we need.
“After Rotherham, that is 23 games, half the season, we can see where we are and say, ‘Okay, we need this to reach our target’.
“But at this moment, the only thing is tomorrow, Birmingham, and Rotherham, then after that we’ll see.
“I’m not being honest or clear if I say I’m not looking at the table. I look at the table for sure.
“But at the same time I’m not worried about the table. I’m not worried if we can have an eight point, five, six or 11-point lead.
“In this moment, it’s win the game, win the next, win the next and then after Birmingham and Rotherham we’ll see.”
The sideshow of the match tagged “Wayne Rooney v Jamie Vardy” in the wake of the libel trial between the two former
England stars’ Wags won’t now happen as the Foxes striker (below) is injured.
Rooney earned breathing space with Brum fans as he ended a run of eight away defeats on the trot with a win over Cardiff City.
He said: “The way I want my team to play is to be hard to beat, to get into the ball, be aggressive and be in control.
“When we don’t do the basics right, and we don’t get a simple five or 10-yard pass right, then we’re in trouble.
“When we do get it right, we look like a really good team.”
WAYNE ROONEY has been backed to come through a “make or break” time in his managerial career.
Birmingham boss Rooney has won just two of his first 10 games since replacing John Eustace in October.
Blues have slid from the play-off places into the bottom half and tomorrow night host high-flying Leicester.
Former Birmingham favourite Paul Robinson (below) reckons how Rooney fares at St Andrew’s will be key to defining his stock as a manager.
And, having played against the ex-manchester United and England forward, he has warned his critics should write him off at their peril.
Robinson said: “This will be make or break for Wayne now, no question.
“There will be a lot of pressure on Wayne but he has a thick skin.
“I remember playing against him and he is a tough cookie. He will be determined.”
Rooney steered Derby to Championship safety in his first season as boss in 2020-21 but was unable to keep them up the following season after a catastrophic 21-point deduction.
He then had a spell in charge of MLS side DC United but left earlier this year after missing out on the play-offs.
Robinson says Blues should not fear Leicester as they look to build on an encouraging midweek victory at Cardiff.
He said: “Birmingham will be the underdog but there’s no better game. “You show you are up for the fight against a team that will probably get automatic promotion.”