Source: Man_City
Kompany: City ready to get tough at Stoke
| Submit Comments| Comments (68)| Printable Version1/1Play SlideshowClose MapYou've seen the flair in Roberto Mancini?s new-look City ... now you are about to see the fight. That is the promise from Blues defensive rock Vincent Kompany as City gear up for the unique physical challenge presented by Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. Last season the Blues grabbed a late point in the away league encounter courtesy of Gareth Barry?s goal but they also crashed out of the FA Cup in extra-time after a sustained aerial bombardment. Those games were a first experience of Stoke?s direct approach for many City players, but this year they are better prepared to meet the challenge, says Kompany. The big Belgian will be a key figure in trying to contain Stoke danger man Kenwyne Jones, and it promises to be a very different prospect to last week?s morale-boosting 4-1 win at Fulham. But Kompany expects his team-mates to rise to a test of their physical prowess after exercising their football ability last week. ?I wouldn?t say Fulham away is an easier game than Stoke, but Saturday will be a tough challenge, a very manly challenge,? said Kompany. ?But we are at the point where we expect a result and we will go for it. ?You have to be ready for an aerial bombardment but if we are as prolific as we were on Sunday hopefully we won?t have that pressure.? Going to Stoke is seen by top Premier League clubs as a real test of their title mettle and City go there in good shape after their best display of the season at Craven Cottage. The only cloud is a possible dilemma at right back, with Fulham goalscoring hero Pablo Zabaleta now banned for one match after totting up five yellow cards, and both Jerome Boateng and Micah Richards fighting to be fit.Boateng was due back in training on Wednesday but that was delayed, while Richards is even more doubtful. Dedryck Boyata is on stand-by in case neither makes it. Kompany was delighted that the pieces all fell into place for City last weekend, but says he cannot point his finger at what made the difference from the hide-bound performance against United and the blank scoreline against Birmingham. ?We have played with more strikers and sometimes it just doesn?t happen for you,? said Kompany. ?You can?t explain why but defensively we have always been solid. ?The defence was good again at Fulham and the strikers started scoring goals, so we saw the real team. Now we need to try to keep at that level.? City certainly looked like a team out to prove a point at Fulham after a landslide of criticism about supposed under-achievement. But Kompany says the sniping has had no impact on the squad at all and that putting on a performance for the City fans was more in the minds of the players than any opportunity to shove spiteful words down throats. ?We didn?t play to prove a point, we played to win for our fans,? he said. ?But we have strong characters in the team and when we don?t win, people are not happy. The performance at Fulham was a reaction to the results, not the criticism. ?Personally, I feel nothing when I hear the criticism. It?s part of what we will go through this season. ?We know nothing will be given to us but we are 18 individuals coming together to play a game and to make it happen we all need to be pulling on the same string. ?I am not the kind of guy who says ?We have won a game, everything is fantastic and we are the best in the league?, but we won and we are a work in progress. ?We won because we learned from our mistakes and if we learn from the mistakes we made in this game we will be even better next game.? As well as taking part in a terrific team performance, Kompany also continued his top-class personal form. And he says that part of the secret of his consistency is that he challenges himself to improve in the next game, even when he has played a blinder. ?Since I joined City, things have gone well for me but I have kept improving, and if I play well, I expect to be better in my next game,? he said. ?I am 24 and I was 22 when I joined the club so it?s only natural that I am better than I was.?
