Nacho’s ready to spice up City bid
STEVE MILLAR KELECHI IHEANACHO has emerged from cold storage to stake his claim for a major role at Manchester City.
The striker has been the forgotten man at The Etihad since the turn of the year, missing chunks of January and the whole of February.
But his goal against Huddersfield after coming on as a 78th-minute substitute for Sergio Aguero was a welcome reminder of his talent.
And Iheanacho said: “Everybody who is part of the team and follows the team wants to be here and enjoy the progress together. Every day you need to improve both in training and in games.
“You need to keep working hard. That is all you need to do. Work hard when you get the chance. When you are not playing you need to keep faith too.
“And when you come in you have to do exactly what your team-mates are doing to help the team and the squad achieve something.”
Iheanacho, 20, was brought off the bench by boss Pep Guardiola and given a huge bear hug on the touchline and slaps on the back before flying into the action.
And that Guardiola show of emotion dispelled any thoughts that the Nigerian was out of favour at City. Far from it.
Iheanacho is in it for the long haul under the guidance of Guardiola as his side fight on three remaining fronts, the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
He said: “Everyone has a good relationship with the manager.
“We are happy to have him here. He will take this club far – he is a very great manager.
“He gave me some words of encouragement to go out and work hard against Huddersfield and help the team to get the result we need.
“We love the way we play and as you can see it is getting the results.”
Iheanacho now has seven goals in 21 appearances this season and loves to play alongside Aguero – or as a solo act.
He added: “Of course I can play with Sergio and I can play just the one man up front.
“It all depends what the manager wants.
“It’s about what is best for the team.”