City must rise to the challenge

The next six days will have huge consequences for Manchester City; the face Liverpool tomorrow night in the Premier League followed by the Manchester derby on Saturday for a place in the FA Cup final. With Spurs getting back to winning ways over the weekend the pressure is back on City to perform at Anfield.

It is not only a huge week for the team; the next two games will also decide Roberto Mancini’s fate. Having spent millions of pounds on his squad the Italian must deliver Champions League football for the club, he simply must. Failure to do so should and surely will result in his departure from the Stadium of Manchester this summer.

The club currently lie in 4^th position and are three points ahead of Tottenham. They still have to play the London club at home on 10^th May which should decide which team will qualify for Europe’s elite club tournament. It is essential that City obtain this lucrative position so they are then able to target the top players from around the world. At present they are capable of paying any figure for any player but lack the resources to offer a serious package.

It is time for City to put their name forward as a growing force in English football. They have had several near misses already and in order to start to convince the players the club is heading in the right direction they must come away with something from Anfield. They will face a tough Liverpool side who have improved significantly under Kenny Dalglish.

Today’s game is based solely around money but it is not always the richest that triumph. Just because City have spent millions assembling a squad of Internationals it doesn’t guarantee them success. If they are to improve then trips like tomorrows will have to be navigated again and again, its time to see whether City really are in for the long haul.