Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca has praised the recent performances of midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, after saying he was previously playing the ‘wrong way’.
The Foxes are currently sat top of the Championship table after Wednesday night’s 3-0 victory over Preston North End, picking up 27 points from a possible 30.
Dewsbury-Hall has been one of the best players in the division recently, and Maresca says this is down to him taking on his feedback and changing the way he played to suit the team, rather than himself.
“To be honest, I’m especially happy for Kiernan because he is improving in the decision-making and in the choices,” Maresca told the Leicester Mercury after the win over Preston. “If you remember in the first game, he was shooting from his house! He was shooting from everywhere!
“Now at the edge of the box, he is patient and maintains the ball. He is improving. He is giving assists. Remember the Southampton assist, the Norwich assist, tonight he was at the edge of the box, he played with Wilf (Ndidi), Wilf played with Kele (Iheanacho) and we scored. These kinds of things, he’s improving a lot.
“He has to understand that probably at the beginning, he wanted to show everyone how important he is in the wrong way. Now he’s showing everyone how important he is by playing easy, simple. We are very happy for him.”
Kiernan Dewsbury-hall has gone up another level
Dewsbury-Hall has been one of the best players in the Championship so far this season, and since taking on Maresca’s advice his game has gone up another level.
He now has eight goal contributions so far this season, the joint highest in the division along with Southampton striker Adam Armstrong and Plymouth forward Ryan Hardie.
Before the international break, it was clear that Dewsbury-Hall was taking many shots from outside the area, wasting a lot of chances the team were creating.
Now doing that less and suiting the team more, he has scored three times in his last two games from inside the area, whilst also assisting Kasey McAteer at Norwich and Southampton.