The 46-year-old was asked about the scale of change at the club over a summer window that saw him succeed Pep Guardiola in the dugout, alongside a comprehensive overhaul of the first-team squad.
Erling Haaland's header from Antoine Semenyo's cross after 25 minutes separated the sides, with Gianluigi Donnarumma making a series of crucial saves to preserve a clean sheet in the second half as Coventry pressed for an equaliser.
It was not an easy game to see through and Maresca acknowledged as much in the room, but the points are what matter at this stage of the season.
Saturday also saw full debuts for Fernandez and Ndiaye, with the former picking up the pre-assist for the goal on his first Premier League start for the club.
Ayyoub Bouaddi and Ryan McAidoo also got minutes in front of the home supporters for the first time, adding to the sense that this squad, however different it looks from last year, is beginning to gel under the Italian.
Speaking to media after the final whistle, Maresca reflected on the period of change the club has gone through and how he is managing it.
"I can see it. It's our team. Again, the main target now for me is to see how the players improve day after day, game after game, that is the most important thing," the Manchester City manager began.
"It's something that we have done in the last games but it's just the beginning of the Premier League and we have many more games that we need to do the right things."
On whether it feels like a new beginning for everyone involved: "The club is aware, the players are aware of that and the coaching staff is aware that it's the beginning of a new project, something new.
"The most important thing when you start something is that you can see that the team is better in October than September, it's better in November than October."
Maresca was asked whether Manchester City can compete and also produce attractive football. The Italian added: "When you are Manchester City, you have to compete, you have to try to win titles, or at least, as I said, compete. And we're going to try to do our best.
"For me now, again, I already said many times, for me now, the main focus is to see the team improving game after game. And this is the main target for me in this moment. So, as a consequence, for me, the focus is not where we can be in March, April. For me, the focus is tomorrow, how we can win the game and how we can do better."
On City's new-found playing style under the former Chelsea coach, Maresca said: "I think all the managers, they have their own idea. At the end, it's a matter of winning games, and I like to win games in the way we want to play.
"And this is the important thing, not only when we have the ball, also when we don't have the ball. And this is the main thing for me."
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