A former Blue believes the winter break and a home game being called off may end up being detrimental for Pep Guardiola’s squad
Manchester City‘s fixture with West Ham should be rescheduled as soon as possible so the Premier League champions don’t lose momentum, according to Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Guardiola’s side were due to take on the Hammers at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, but the match was called off due to the extreme weather conditions caused by ‘Storm Ciara’.
City had won nine of their previous 10 matches across all competitions, but did suffer a surprise 2-0 defeat at Tottenham at the start of the month, which allowed Liverpool to move 22 points clear at the top of the league.
The Blues could have bounced back with a morale-boosting victory over West Ham, but will now have to wait 12 days until their next outing against Leicester at the King Power Stadium due to the Premier League’s winter break.
Wright-Phillips would prefer to see his old club get back on the pitch sooner, so that motivation levels within the squad are maintained heading into the business end of the season.
“For me, it was always tough if [a match was postponed]. You build up so much emotion, ready to go out and get the victory and that happens. It’s a bit deflating, to be honest with you. I think for me as a player I would rather it [be rescheduled] this weekend,” the ex-City winger told Sky Sports.
“I think it’s more of ‘where do you put it in?’ For Man City, and the teams up the top or even the teams at the bottom, if you’re getting into your stride at that time, the winter break can almost break it and when you come back you could be doing the opposite things.
“It’s a tough one especially when you come back off holiday to keep that momentum going.”
Wright-Phillips did, however, go on to concede that the break may have come at the “perfect time” for Raheem Sterling, who is fighting to get back to full fitness after suffering a hamstring injury.
“I would have rather just played continuously, to be honest with you, but like you said the game’s a lot different now,” the former England international said. “Maybe a plus for Sterling with the hamstring issue, it might have come at the perfect time for him to recover and be back fit and ready for it afterwards.”
Liverpool look destined to win their first league title in 30 years come May, having won 24 of their 25 fixtures while also extending their unbeaten run to 42 top-flight matches.
Wright-Phillips says City should be focusing on their own form rather than how well Liverpool are doing, as he sees little chance of Jurgen Klopp’s men slipping up over the next few months.
“I wouldn’t be worried so much about their form. I think they’re doing well,” he said. “I just think that the problem they have is Liverpool are doing so well that they’re not even dropping any points – they’re just winning.
“If you go back to seasons, like when you had ‘the Invincibles’, they would drop points to a draw, whereas Liverpool are taking those draws and turning those into wins, which is making it even tougher to catch them.”
Guardiola has not named the same starting XI in consecutive games this season, but Wright-Phillips believes rotation is necessary to keep up morale, as he added: “I think for every player it’s tough, but with the team and the standard of player that he has, he has to rotate to keep people happy.
“It is a tough one. Normally it’s never been a problem, so it’s interesting to hear that it is now.”
Be the first to comment