With the Blues having secured our place in the Conference League’s next phase following our victory on aggregate over Servette, Maresca’s thoughts quickly turned to another stern test against the Eagles.

Despite Palace having suffered a tough start to the season, our head coach refuses to underestimate the south London side as he aims for back-to-back wins in the Premier League.

‘I’ve watched both games and they probably didn’t deserve to lose to be honest,’ Maresca opened.

‘But this can happen in football. They are a very good team and last year they finished fantastic. This year they are going to again be up there and have good results.

‘I feel pressure for myself because we want to play well and win games. Sometimes it’s not so automatic, you need to have the process. I trust and focus on the day to day, trying to improve players and improve the team.’

After a week away with trips to Wolves and Switzerland, the Italian is looking forward to returning to the Bridge, with Maresca explaining how much he appreciates the support he’s received so far.

‘We really enjoyed the other day, Wolves away,’ he said.

‘With the away fans, it’s always special because you can hear them more. We have played at home to Man City and Servette, the fans were fantastic so hopefully we can give them a good day, and joy that we can share together.

‘We are ahead of where I expected, so I am very happy about this. We have just started so we have many things we need to improve, but we are in the right direction.’

Maresca believes our 6-2 win at Molineux is proof his style of football is beginning to take shape under his watch.

He said: ‘[Before Wolves] I was not happy because we lost against City, but I think the performance was good. Everyone is talking about Wolves because we won but we are in the right direction and that is the most important thing.

‘The style is clear, this is the way we like to play. Logically, there is another team that is there and trying to do the best for them, so sometimes it’s not easy.

'Overall, since day one, the identity of the team is quite clear and hopefully, day by day we can improve and win more games.’

One of many standout performances from our last Premier League fixture came from Cole Palmer, with the head coach particularly pleased with his progress.

‘I’ve been very impressed with Cole, even though I have known him very well for many years,’ Maresca explained.

‘It’s never easy to repeat the same numbers as last year in terms of goals and assists, but the most important thing for Cole is to enjoy football, relax and not feel pressure on his shoulders. He has to enjoy training every day and then the goals and assists will come for sure.’

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