CITY MUST BECOME A KOMPANY TRADING IN SILVER
‘We all believe in one vision and just need to keep our hunger going’
VINCENT KOMPANY believes Manchester City must become a winning machine before they can be put on a pedestal.
City are celebrating their first silverware under Pep Guardiola after trouncing Arsenal 3-0 at Wembley on Sunday to land the Carabao Cup.
Guardiola’s men were on a different level to the Gunners as they completed the first stage of a potential treble this season.
City are closing in on the Premier League title and are also on the brink of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.
Kompany knows the future is brighter than ever for the club.
But he insists City need to maintain their ruthless hunger to keep landing the big prizes if they are to become one of the great sides.
The Belgium centre-half said: “We showed the resilience in our team. You can always come into a final and be a little bit shellshocked, it happens.
“But then to maintain the calm and be able to raise your performance throughout the game is a special thing to be able to do. So there’s a lot to be proud of.
“If you don’t have that belief, you need to buy into it. If you don’t, there’s no way you can develop any style of game. It all relies on everyone believing in that one vision.
“This gives us the feeling that we can achieve stuff playing how we do. I’d like to see the same focus throughout the next few games. Then we’ll see.
Better
“We’ll have to see what level we can reach when the trophies are coming.
“If we win more and consistently, if we can win the Premier League and then go again and again, then this team will be better than the previous one.
“We have scored hundreds of goals. It’s been a feature of this club for many years now. I kind of want to keep that hunger in the team.
“So I don’t want to put people on a pedestal when we haven’t achieved all of our targets yet. So, for now, well done, but keep going.”
The win over Arsene Wenger’s flops was a personal triumph for captain Kompany, who has endured horrific injury problems in recent seasons.
Kompany scored City’s second goal, although he didn’t have a celebration planned because he wasn’t expecting to find the back of the net.
The defender said: “It means the world to me. I don’t plan the celebrations, as you can see!
“It’s just pure emotion. What you can see is what I feel. It’s hard to put a ranking on them. Scoring against Manchester United, it’s always going to be difficult to top that one, but this is up there.
“I’m fortunate to be at a club where I get incredible support from the medical staff. But a lot of it is just my own doing. Just absolute stubbornness.
“I kind of almost get enjoyment out of adversity in life. However bad it can be, I’ve always been like this. I’m kind of the wrong guy to bet against.
“But it’s not just about how I see it for myself.
It’s about what I want to achieve for the club and with my team-mates. It’s a journey we’ve all been on and this is one trophy. “I want us to go on another journey and get another trophy. And that’s all it is really.” Kompany now wants City to gatecrash Europe’s elite and land the Champions League. They have one foot in the last eight after their 4-0 first-leg win in Basel. “There is belief but we are not favourites above the big ones like Real Madrid and Barcelona,” he added. “We’re just trying to fight our way in there and maybe shake things up a little bit. But one thing at a time. It’s too early to call it.”