Italian does not shy away from the task of following a legend but his previous time at the club may help him

Relaxed and tanned, Enzo Maresca offered a warm note with his first words to the media as the manager of Manchester City, who must somehow follow the generational Pep Guardiola. “Before we start, I would like to send a message and a big hug to Kevin Keegan’s family for this moment,” said the Italian in tribute to a football legend, following his death on Monday.

Keegan, of course, was a former City manager who had at Newcastle famously locked horns with Sir Alex Ferguson when he led Manchester United, the fierce rivals of Maresca’s new team. When the 46-year-old, sat on the dais occupied for 10 mostly glittering years by Guardiola, offered an unsolicited reference to Ferguson – and Arsène Wenger – you could see he comprehended the mammoth task before him.