Marti Cifuentes has given his full backing to Stephy Mavididi as the Leicester City winger works to meet rising expectations this season.
The City manager admitted it’s “not easy” for Mavididi after a challenging spell in the Premier League and with added pressure to perform following his excellent campaign two years ago.
The focus is on the 27-year-old after he failed to bury the best chance of the match in Saturday’s scoreless draw with Coventry, his one-on-one shot denied.
He’s still searching for his first goal of the season, having ended as City’s second-top scorer behind only Jamie Vardy two seasons back.
After that miss, a section of City supporters chanted Jeremy Monga’s name, with increasing calls from fans for the 16-year-old sensation to start ahead of Mavididi on the left flank.
Cifuentes believes Mavididi knows exactly what’s expected of him and is confident he will deliver.
“Stephy, in this stage of his career, is a mature player,” Cifuentes said at his press conference on Wednesday.
“He understands, when a player has the quality he’s got, there’s always big expectations around him.
“He knew it was a big chance. But what I value is that he’s trying again and again and that’s the most important thing.
“He had a very strong season in the Championship two seasons ago, so probably everybody expects him to be at the same level, if not better.
“It’s not easy for him. Last season was perhaps not the best for him. I’m here to try to get the best out of his game.
“What I value is that he’s honest. We know he can deliver a lot and can be a very important player for the team.
“For me, what I value is that he’s trying to go one-v-one, he’s trying to do the things we ask him to do. That’s why, as long as he keeps trying, I will always be backing him because he’s a very good player.”
Monga does have a goal to his record this term, scoring off the bench at Preston last month, but he’s only started one league fixture so far, away at Charlton when Mavididi was sidelined.
“It’s always healthy that there is competition,” Cifuentes added. “Jeremy can learn a lot from Stephy.
“When you look at Stephy’s career, he’s done well, not only in the Championship, he’s already played in the Premier League, he’s played abroad at a high level, at big clubs like Juventus and Arsenal. There is definitely something that Jez can learn from him.”