Nedum Onuoha admits if City can finish in the top four it will be a boyhood dream realised.
The Blues’ Manchester-raised defender has already spent more than a decade with the team he supported as a boy, but this season is proving to be far and away the best since he joined.
“It’s fair to say I’ve seen a number of ups and downs over the years and the highest I’ve ever known us to finish in the Premier League is eighth,” he said.
“It would be an amazing feeling to play Champions League football next season. In all honesty, it’s not something I thought would ever happen, particularly when you go back four years or so and think of the situation the club was in at the time.
"It would be fantastic to be competing
at the highest level of European
competition, but there is still a long
way to go before we can start thinking
along those lines"
“We are in a great position and, hopefully, we will end the season in fourth. With the calibre of players we have within our squad, I think we would do well in the Champions League and as a club, I believe we are ready for it. All we have to do, as players, is make sure it happens.
“This is without doubt this is the best team I’ve ever played in. To be where we are in the table and scoring goals in the manner we are, I think it goes without saying that this is the best team we’ve had for a long time.”
Onuoha doesn’t believe United’s recent set-backs will make any less formidable this weekend and is preparing for an epic battle against the Reds.
“We’ve got five really tough games to come against teams who all have something to play for, but we’re feeling confident and the spirit is fantastic. It’s in our hands, which is as much as we could hope for at this stage.
"I think we play better against better
teams and there is no chance of us
going into any of the games with a
degree of complacency
“United are dangerous whenever you play them and this is, after all, a Manchester derby and anything can happen. Everyone’s motivated for it and we’re more determined to beat them than ever.
“A win will help our cause no end and it will make it even harder for them to win the title so we can’t have much more incentive than that, can we?”
mcfc.co.uk
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 6:59 pm