Lescott: Spending critics motivate City

07 October 2010 13:02

Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott admits the growing criticism of the club's big-spending methods to achieve success are a motivating factor for the players.

City recently posted losses of £121million, which does not include over £100million spent in the summer which took transfer spending at the club since Sheikh Mansour's takeover to £326million. The Abu Dhabi money appears to finally be having an effect with City currently second in the Barclays Premier League table but the lavish outlay has met with consternation in some quarters.

Lescott said all that did was make the squad more determined and he told the club's official website: "We're all dedicated, and we're also using as fuel the fact that people from outside the club don't want us to succeed - that's probably natural unless you're a City fan."

He added: "You won't want us to do well at the expense of your team.

"Everyone was crying out for so long for someone to break into the top four.

"We're doing it, but somehow it's like 'you're doing it the wrong way'.

"We just have to take it with a pinch of salt and repay the people who showed faith in us."

Source: PA