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De Jong: City will stay No. 1 after United clash

Comment: 0 October 20th, 2011 by: admin

Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong made a bold statement recently, promising that they will remain at the top of the Premier League table even after facing Manchester United.

In the derby scheduled for this weekend, United are set to host City in a match that could return the Red Devils back on the top spot, and send City back to runner-up position.

United’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool last Saturday toppled them off the prime position after City claimed 3 points in their match with Aston Villa during the same day.

Trailing City by only 2 points, the Red Devils are within pouncing distance of the first place spot.  In this case, their way to the top is through City.

De Jong, however, insisted that their biggest rivals will not get that chance.

‘Of course, everyone believes we can win,’ he said.  ‘We’re going [to Old Trafford] as No. 1 and the aim is to stay No. 1.’

He added that his squad is primed and able to hand United their first defeat, as they have shown from their performance last year.

‘We proved last season that we could beat them, so we don’t have anything to prove,’ boasted De Jong.  ‘We’ve shown our quality throughout the season.  We don’t need a game against United to show how good we are.’

The midfielder added that the pressure between the two rivals has kept the same intensity as the previous season.  However, the fact that City enters the gates of their nemeses’ territory as the top team in the league makes a difference.

‘We’re on top of the league, so going into this game we just have to be confident and play our game as well as we have been doing.’

De Jong gave high praise to City manager Roberto Mancini, under whose care he thinks the squad will excel and claim their first league championship in over 40 years.

‘You can’t build a history of winning trophies over 25 years like United have done in just one year,’ he said.  ‘We are building here, step by step, but it takes time.  Maybe you don’t get a lot of time when you’re spending a lot of money on players.  But still you need to go step by step.’

After recognising the efforts and triumphs of United under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson, De Jong said that he decided to join ‘the other Manchester club’ to help bring the same glory to their side.

‘That’s the main reason why myself and a lot of the others signed for City,’ he said.  ‘You have to be honest, they pay good wages and everyone can earn a good living here, but it’s not about that.

‘Every player wants to win trophies and titles and we feel we can do that here.’

Manchester City are set to face United after a huge and emotional win in the Champions League competition against Villarreal.  The match threatened to conclude in a 1-1 draw, until Sergio Aguero netted a goal at the 4^th minute of stoppage time.

‘It’s a big boost, De Jong said.  ‘Every game you win gives you something extra going into the next game and that’s especially the case when you’ve got a game like this one on Sunday.’

City’s match with United will come as a chance for the club to break a 4-game losing streak at Old Trafford.  Their last victory in the Red Devils’ territory was in February 2008.

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