Source: Daily_Mail
Bullish Wright-Phillips insists that big-spending Man City can win the title
Manchester City can win the Premier League and the club's lack of European football will be a big advantage over their title rivals, according to Shaun Wright-Phillips.
The England winger says that Mark Hughes's side will be able to focus on league football while the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea are distracted by the Champions League.
Wright-Phillips also warned that City are ready to grind out results and will no longer be seen as a soft touch when the club plays away from Eastlands.
Hughes is not demanding a title challenge, but Wright-Phillips said: 'If we put our heads down, you never know. We have fewer games not being in Europe. We can concentrate on domestic stuff and are likely to stay a lot fitter.
'I believe we have what it takes to win the title at some point. But that takes consistency, and being able to win when you're not playing well. Last year, particularly away, if we weren't playing well we couldn't grind a result out. We're learning you have to grit in sometimes.'
'We want to win as many games as possible. At home, people will be more scared of us than we are of them. Now we have a load of new players, it has upped the standards of the team. We are a force to be reckoned with.
'I came back to try and help the club achieve things, to win something. It is what I did in my first spell. Now more players are coming in, it's become more likely that I thought. Everybody here is excited.
Wright-Phillips also said that the influx of big name signings from top clubs is helping to form a winning mentality among the squad, and that the only factor holding City back is their away form.
'[Mark Hughes] is forming a team now where the players are used to winning,' he said. 'That mentality rubs off. If you let in a goal, you don't sink into your shell, you come out even harder and put people on the back foot, home or away.
'The thing we lacked last year to be in the top six was our away form, and we started to correct that towards the end. Once we get the away form right, there is nothing stopping us really.'
