Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has hailed the positive mood within his squad as they prepare to face Cardiff City at the Etihad on Saturday.
City are currently on a 16-game unbeaten run and have not been upset at home in the Premier League with their only home defeat this season coming against Bayern Munich back in October.
Pellegrini played down talk of a quadruple at his press conference and instead praised his players for their upbeat attitude.
“The way we play, the players like – that’s maybe why they seem happy,” he said.
“All of them must feel important to win something this year – it’s impossible to achieve our targets with only 11 players.
“From the beginning, I said we will need all of them. We do it all together – if not, it’s very difficult.”
Cardiff are the visitors this weekend and will be hoping that new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the last Manchester United player to score at Maine Road before it was demolished, will fare better at the Etihad than others have.
With City on the brink of racking up a century of goals Pellegrini does not want his players to get distracted by the prospect.
“More goals are better but we prefer to be a balanced team,” he said.
“All of the players must know that winning tomorrow is the only important thing. It’s not important for us to think about what happens in one or two months.”
Solskjaer was in bullish mood when he spoke to reporters and said his side would not be intimidated by the trip.
“We are relishing the challenge. When you go to places like the Etihad Stadium or Old Trafford you are going to be tested against some of the best players in the world- never mind Europe,” he said.
“We have our own standards to live up to. We beat Manchester City at home and bigger surprises have happened.
“You have to go up there with the mind set of having a go and taking something from the game.”
Image courtesy of Manchester City FC via YouTube, with thanks.
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