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Kompany: Crisis talk at City ridiculous

Carlos Tevez earned Manchester City victory over Swansea © PA Photos

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Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has fended off criticism that his team are not capable of defending their Premier League title and is prepared to prove the doubters wrong.

In the early stages of the season, City have failed to find the spark which saw them crowned champions in May. That has led to some cutting analysis from outside the club and Kompany, outstanding at the heart of City's defence in the last campaign, has also found his form the subject of scrutiny.

"Personally, I don't ever get affected by it," he said. "I just keep living the life and keep working really hard. If one day goes a little bit less than another, I know I have at least done my best.

"By being patient and keeping doing what you have done to get success in the first place, you'll get there again. It is a very difficult thing. People around the club get wild and excited but I stay very calm.

"We'll be here in a couple of weeks or months and maybe everyone will [have] praises and smiles. It is going to happen. Everything takes time.''

Criticism of City intensified after the midweek loss to Ajax in Amsterdam left them needing a "miracle'', in the opinion of manager Roberto Mancini, to reach the next stage of the Champions League.

Claims of a dressing room rift between Mancini and the players emerged last week with some players, including Micah Richards, proving resistant to the manager's changed tactics. But Kompany, who helped the team beat Swansea 1-0 on Saturday, dismissed that as nonsense.

"That's funny. I don't like to get involved in this but sometimes I do," he said. "I never have a problem with performances being down or up. People have the right to have opinions on performances, but the stories are based on things I cannot even relate to, and I am in this team.

"I started my career to play football and be the best footballer. I expect journalists to tell the truth and do the job for that. That is just sensationalism, nothing more.''

Although the Champions League appears to have slipped from City's grasp, their Premier League position looks far healthier. Despite under-performing, the champions remain unbeaten and Saturday's win was their fourth victory in succession.

"I feel good but we set a very high standard last season," Kompany said. "We want to achieve the same performances as last season but it is a matter of time sometimes.

"When statistics are not going your way, there is no way of fighting by talking about it. Now we have got a clean sheet, we are going into the next game and if we can keep getting good results, things will fall into place naturally.

"Football is like a big piece of theatre. We are on stage and when it goes well people are clapping you and sometimes you get more praise than you should. Sometimes when it doesn't go as well as you want it, you'll be the worst player or the worst manager in the world. It is just part of the game and one thing I don't do is get involved.''

Kompany's performances this season have come under fire, but the 26-year-old refuses to let the negative talk impact him on the field. "Criticism just depends how much attention you want to pay to it," he said. "I don't pay any attention to criticism. I just do my own critique, so it doesn't affect me.

"I wouldn't expect the manager to be affected by it and I would expect the whole team to be very mature to kick on. Whatever criticism we are getting now, we are still unbeaten in the league. It just means we have set the standard very high.''

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