Onuoha salutes City strikeforce

09 April 2010 08:56
Nedum Onuoha (right)Manchester City have the firepower to blast their way into fourth place, as Burnley discovered last weekend. And Blues defender Nedum Onuoha feels that the six-goal salvo which blew away the Clarets at Turf Moor could set the team up for a grandstand finish to the season. Onuoha watched in admiration from the right-back spot as a front four of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Adam Johnson blitzed the home defence. And he feels that the crushing win might just be a breakthrough moment, filling the side with confidence and optimism going into Sunday's home clash with Birmingham. They come up against a side which has managed home draws against Liverpool and Arsenal in their last two games, but which have kept just one clean sheet in the Premier League in 2010. City were hoping for the return of Wayne Bridge (knee), Micah Richards (knee) and Stevie Ireland (ankle), who were all expected to be fit to play after recent injury problems. But all three are now doubts for the Birmingham game, while Sylvinho has a calf problem. Onuoha wants City to go out at Eastlands and try to wipe out Tottenham's two-goal advantage in goal difference, which was whittled down from nine last Saturday. "There is every chance that goal difference could be important, but we would rather win it by having more points," he said. "But it could come down to that, so we have to go into every game and score as many as we can. "Potentially it sets us up for a good finish to the season in terms of goalscoring, but I won't argue if we win every game 1-0 between now and the end of the season. "We didn't really start thinking about the goal difference during the Burnley game, but you could tell we were going to score a few goals. Tevez impact "Every time Carlos came into the hole, and somebody played it to him, you knew something was going to happen. "We are fourth now, so it's for us to lose rather than hoping other results go in our favour. "I'm not going to start sitting down working it all out - I'd rather sit down and eat some pizza and watch football!" Onuoha believes that the Blues are now starting to feel the benefit of the experience which bolsters the squad. "Experience makes a massive difference, and somewhere we have improved a lot this year is in goalscoring," he said. "In years gone by we have not scored enough goals, but now we have the likes of Tevez, Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz who at any given moment can score a goal for you." Onuoha has perhaps the longest connection with City of anyone on the playing staff, having been a ball boy before joining the Academy. He is hoping to keep his place in the side despite the return of his pal Richards, to give a good ending to a season which has been personally frustrating but rewarding in terms of progress. "This is all a bit different, trying to get into the Champions League," he said with a grin. "We just need to win as many games as we can, and good form would carry us through." How should City play it against Birmingham? Have your say. | Submit Comments| Comments (42)| PrintWhat's this? Emaildel.icio.usDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponNewsvineGoogle BookmarksNetscapeTechnoratiWindows LiveYahoo! MyWebMa.gnolia

Source: Man_City