'People don't care' - Leicester City man moans at Championship schedule and Leeds United unfair advantage

The Italian saw his side beaten at Millwall on Tuesday night before travelling back up the M1 to Leicestershire the same evening and now faces a trip to relegation-threatened Plymouth Argyle for an 8pm kick-off on Friday. Quick turnarounds between fixtures is something Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has commented on throughout the season, in particular during the Whites' gruelling month of February which saw them make the journey to Plymouth twice in the space of two weeks.

However, Leeds managed to go unbeaten during their especially tasking run of games mid-season, which Leicester have so far struggled to emulate.

Maresca, though, believes his team are disproportionately disadvantaged by the fixture list, which sees them play earlier than their two automatic promotion rivals, both of whom contest their next match on Saturday afternoon.

“We are the only team who played Tuesday night and now Friday and at this moment, with our competitors, we are the only ones that played two games away.

“I don't think people care too much about players’ health because otherwise you cannot understand this kind of a decision.

"We played Tuesday night and arrived back at 3am. Today [Thursday] we need to travel. We have a five hour trip back from Plymouth, but the organisation decide that.

“I am concerned, absolutely, 100 per cent about my players and about all the players that they play after 48 hours, two games in a row away, Plymouth, the longest trip of the season and arriving at 3am."

Maresca has previously been at odds with the Leicester fanbase this season, many of whom have been left dissatisfied by the head coach's possession-heavy style of play, even though the club remain in pole position to be promoted.

The 44-year-old is under increasing pressure to clinch an automatic spot after squandering a significant lead at the top of the table since the Christmas period. Failure to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking could result in a firesale of the Foxes' best players this summer, as the club struggles to comply with Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

"If the players don't perform, they are bad. No, they are not bad, they are human beings.

“We played already 50 games this season, 41 in the Championship. They are human beings, and people don't care about that," Maresca added.

Leicester have five games remaining this season, starting with their trip to Devon which kicks off the weekend's Championship fixture list. Following that, they play host to West Bromwich Albion and Southampton in the space of three days before a trip to Preston North End and finish the campaign at home to Blackburn Rovers.