Enzo Maresca has opened up on life at Manchester City, as his first season as head coach of the club draws near.
The former Chelsea boss spoke to BBC Sport and other members of UK football media while in Seoul during City's preseason tour of South Korea.
He revealed how he has been coping with the expectations that come with following in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola, how the Premier League has changed since he was working as Guardiola's assistant in 2023 and the dilemma he's facing over who to hand the captaincy to for City's new era.
"After 10 games, if we have got 10 points, 20 points, 30 points. People will be comparing it to Pep after 10 games, it doesn't put pressure on me. I have said many times while I was at Leicester [City] or Chelsea, he is the best manager in the world over the last 15 or 20 years," Maresca said to reporters.
Enzo Maresca is preparing to lead Man City into a new era, as the club heads into its first season in 10 years without Pep Guardiola at the helm. Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images "When he started in Spain, everyone wanted to play like Barcelona, he moved to Germany everyone wanted to play like Bayern [Munich], he comes to England and everyone wants to play like City.
"Someone asked me if it's the impossible job to follow him -- maybe, but at the same time it's a privilege."
Guardiola was a coach unlike any other at City, having led the club to six Premier League titles -- including an unprecedented four in-a-row -- as well as the Champions League trophy, three FA Cups and five Carabao Cups.
Maresca also said that he met with Guardiola in Barcelona the day before he officially signed his contract to take over from the Spaniard.
"We spent some hours together. We had planned before the season finished here to spend some time in the summer holidays together," he said.
"I like to go in empty sometimes to see things for myself -- but he was here so long, he has his opinions. But also you have to arrive and see things for yourself, see all the picture."
The Italian also spoke about the the rise of set pieces in the Premier League and how important they now are for teams hunting the title -- as shown by Arsenal's success last season. The Gunners scored 25 goals from set pieces and clinched the title while City finished second.
He said City are looking to "try and improve" at set pieces but also said that he thinks the Premier League remains the best league in the world, despite criticism from some that it has become too focused on set pieces and on slowing the game down.