AKE TAKES THE FIFTH
City star: It’s great to be in the next round, but I can’t even talk about Guardiola doing a ‘Klopp’
NATHAN AKE dreads the day when Pep Guardiola decides to call time on his all-conquering Manchester City reign.
So much so that the Dutch defender, whose late strike at Tottenham on Friday night fired his side into the FA Cup fifth round, refuses to even contemplate the prospect.
Asked about Jurgen Klopp’s decision to exit Liverpool at the end of this season and what it would feel like if City’s inspirational coach did something similar, Ake replied: “I don’t want to even think about it.
“Obviously, it was a shock for everyone to see the news. Klopp’s a very good manager and he’s done so well at Liverpool.
“For the Premier League, he will be a big loss.
“But it didn’t change anything for us here. We are just focused on ourselves.”
Just what effect Klopp’s sudden announcement has on the Anfield dressing room during the remainder of the season only time will tell.
Some reckon it could make the league leaders and Quadruple chasers even more dangerous, with a determination to give the German a glorious send-off.
Ake is unsure whether it makes any significant difference either way. After all, Liverpool, who host Norwich in the Cup today, have been showing their quality pretty much since the start of the season.
Ake added: “I don’t know how they will feel. But we knew, even before this, that they were going to be so good this season.
“They have so many cups to play for. So far, they’ve done really well.
I think this will continue. We have pushed one another over the last few years. Every time they do well, we want to do better. Then they want to do better. It has been a great challenge.” What is sure is that City are primed for a typically strong latter half to the campaign. Ake, whose 88th-minute strike was the club’s first goal in six visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, said: “We had a few days off and a good training camp in Abu Dhabi.
“We could also relax a bit and get ready to attack the second half of the season.
“We have grown. The most important thing is everyone has the hunger to keep going.
“If you get this, results come with it.”