Pearce prepared to scrap
09 Mar 2007 - 14:59:17
Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce has called on his beleaguered side to battle and scrap their way through the rest of the season, starting with this weekend's FA Cup quarter-final at Blackburn Rovers.
A dismal run of four successive Premiership losses has left City only one place above the drop zone, but Pearce is unwilling to press the panic button just yet.
He told the Manchester Evening News: "We'll set up to try to win the game at Ewood but it's like any other cup game in that, if you can't win it then you try to make sure that you don't get beaten.
"We have the capability to win the game. From now until the end of the season, our ability to scrap in games will come to the fore, starting at Blackburn on Sunday.
"There's no point us feeling sorry for ourselves. We've got to roll up our sleeves and get on with what's a massive game for this club at Ewood Park. They're arguably the form side in the country, but we should be looking forward to it.
"We're aware of our shortcomings but we're aware as well that we have a lot of ability in the squad. We've not scored enough goals to have put us in a comfortable position or where we were looking to be.
"The more attacking options I have available to me the better, so Emile Mpenza will come into the equation along with Darius Vassell and Paul Dickov - as long as they don't show any adverse reaction to their injuries."