As their attention turns back to the battle for a top-four place this weekend with a trip to Midlands rivals Aston Villa, City manager Brendan Rodgers believes his side have learned to stay calm, and won’t get ahead of themselves as they may have done this time last year. City have been one of the most consistent performers in the Premier League this term, holding a top-four spot throughout the campaign, and now sitting third with a four-point cushion to fifth.
Brendan Rodgers said: “There’s been natural growth, the (Covid-enforced) break hindered us after the game against Aston Villa (a 4-0 win) last season, the rhythm of our game was broken and when we came back, we had key players injured. People look for lots of reasons but you don’t have to look too far. We had a number of key players missing and that was too much for us. We have a lot of young players, and they’re growing at the level. Maybe a little bit of excitement gathered last season. This season everything is much calmer, knowing that you’ve got to keep going and you can’t get excited too early. You’ve got to play the game with emotion, you’ve got to play with energy, but you’ve always got to stay focused, and I’ve seen a growth in the maturity over the past year.”
Brendan Rodgers said: “There’s been natural growth, the (Covid-enforced) break hindered us after the game against Aston Villa (a 4-0 win) last season, the rhythm of our game was broken and when we came back, we had key players injured. People look for lots of reasons but you don’t have to look too far. We had a number of key players missing and that was too much for us. We have a lot of young players, and they’re growing at the level. Maybe a little bit of excitement gathered last season. This season everything is much calmer, knowing that you’ve got to keep going and you can’t get excited too early. You’ve got to play the game with emotion, you’ve got to play with energy, but you’ve always got to stay focused, and I’ve seen a growth in the maturity over the past year.”City’s consistency comes amid a hectic campaign, in which they have played two games a week for the majority of the season. While Villa have had a full week to prepare for Sunday’s game, City did not arrive back from their Europa League game at Prague until the early hours of Friday morning.
Brendan Rodgers said: “We’re really enjoying the games. Of course, it’s tough from a physical perspective. Last week, we had a really tough game against Brighton (in the FA Cup), we got through, then we played at 12.30 on the weekend against arguably the most physical team in the league in terms of running and aggression (Liverpool). We dug in and got a great result, and performed well, and we’re looking at the same this week. We’ve had a tough game, and now we go to Villa, but we go in with a really strong mindset to get a strong result. Anything I’ve asked of this team, they’ve given me their all.”
