City title fun is over - Kidd

24 May 2012 06:47

Manchester City assistant boss Brian Kidd believes the time for celebrating their first title in 44 years is over.

So, whilst Roy Hodgson decided to axe his England pre-Euro 2012 training camp in Spain partly due to the extended commitments of Roberto Mancini's men, Kidd is happy to begin looking forward. He recognises the fact City's players now have that gold badge on their sleeve that confirms their status as top dogs, everyone else will be out to remove it.

Kidd said: "It is no good settling for (winning) the championship. You have got to be hungry, you have got to go on and you have got to want more. The fans enjoyed it but, on the Monday morning, we started again."

He added: "It was the same at Liverpool all those years ago. They won it and that was it. They moved on."

Thankfully, Kidd got the impression inside the Blues dressing room, once the Barclays Premier League trophy presentation was over, that the desire required to extend this winning habit was there, even if he baulks at the thought what Manchester now has is a rivalry to match the famous 'El Clasico' in Madrid.

"You could see after they came off the pitch the players still had the hunger and desire," he said. "But there is a long way to go before people can start talking about dynasties. Manchester City won the FA Cup. Now they have won the league. It is a good start. Hopefully we can build off that."

St Bede's College was the natural place for Kidd to launch an initiative that will raise money for various charities through the "I Put My Shirt On It Scheme", where fans can buy either England or Republic of Ireland themed shirts ahead of Euro 2012.

His daughter teaches at the school and two of his grandchildren are being educated there, emphasising his Mancunian roots.

However, it leaves him well-placed to detect an undercurrent of animosity he hopes does not build up into something even more distasteful as City and Manchester United scrap for honours.

"I don't want everything to turn bitter and unsavoury," said Kidd. "For the derby, we got more viewers than El Clasico, which is fantastic for Manchester. One team had to win, which we hoped we did with some humility, the other had to lose. Let's take it for what it is. Two fantastic clubs and two great sets of fans the people of Manchester should be proud of."

Source: PA