Sven still believes in Europe
09 Mar 2008 - 12:03:20
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- Sven still believes in Europe
Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is refusing to give up on his side's UEFA Cup hopes despite their 2-0 defeat at the hands of Reading.
City slipped further off the pace in the race for Europe after Saturday's costly defeat at the Madejski Stadium.
Eriksson's out-of-sorts side has won just one of their last eight league games and they are now three points adrift of sixth-placed Aston Villa having played an extra game.
Manchester United and Chelsea's shock FA Cup exits on Saturday also further decreased City's chances of qualifying for the UEFA Cup with just two teams - fifth and sixth - now likely to qualify from league placings.
"It is a difficult and frustrating time because we have taken only one point and conceded easy goals which at the first half of the season we would never have done," admitted Eriksson.
"It is up to us to make it right and start to win, because otherwise there is no meaning talking about Europe. As long as it is still a mathematical possibility, we have to believe it and fight for it."
Meanwhile, Eriksson also revealed his concern at a lack of defenders following Richard Dunne's exit in the first half with an injury.
City are already without fellow first-choice centre-half Micah Richards following knee surgery, while full-back Michael Ball also looked to be struggling towards the end of Saturday's defeat.
"For the last ten minutes you could see that Michael Ball was not okay either, you could see that for the second goal," added the Swede.
"But we do not have any more defenders, so we have to carry on."