New Manchester City signing Fernandinho is calling for the club to ignore what their cross-city rivals Manchester United are doing and concentrate on exploding out of the blocks.
The Brazilian joined City from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer and is eager for the Blues to start strong ahead of a tough season.
After losing the league by 11 points to United last season Fernandinho believes the best form of revenge will be playing well.
“It is not a question of thinking about United. We have to think about ourselves,” he told PA.
“It is important to start strong. We need to get as many points as possible in those first few games.”
The £30million man is wary of the fact that, as soon as the Champions League begins, games will be coming thick and fast.
“It is important before the Champions League starts in mid-September to get as many points as possible because after that we are playing Saturday-midweek all the time and it gets harder,” he said.
Having arrived from the Ukrainian Premier League Fernandinho knows that there will be a learning curve involved as he gets to grips with physicality of the English game.
“The Premier League is a very strong competition,” he said.
“It is very tough and a different style of football.
“Obviously I don’t have any experience of English football, so I don’t know what the effects will be.”
Despite making the switch into the unknown, the 28-year-old is determined to maintain a high level of performance.
“I want to train and practise as much as possible. I want to have a balanced season, always playing at the same level,” he said.
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