Aleksandar warming to his task

The Manchester City kit manager and former Athletic star writes every week for Chron Sport.

DESPITE dominating possession for the majority of the game at Aston Villa, Manchester City suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat in the Barclays Premier League.

It was one of those days. The home team defended brilliantly, particularly our former captain Richard Dunne.

And the little man — Carlos Tevez — missed a couple of chances which would usually have ended up in the back of the net.

On the plus side, full-back Aleksandar Kolarov had his best game since joining the club. He has a heck of a shot on him, and got up and down the flank throughout the match.

I think we are seeing the best of Aleksandar, because he is match fit. He picked up a couple of injuries earlier in the season, but seems to be flying now.

Some could point to the added pressure of us playing at 5.30pm after Manchester United and Arsenal had already won.

But to be honest, I don’t think that made a difference. It didn’t put extra pressure on our lads because there is pressure every week just to stay near the top of the table.

Our players aren’t bothered about what other teams do.

I caught up with Dunney before and after the game. He was a fantastic servant to this club and it was nice to see him.

Unfortunately I did not get to see another former Blue, Stephen Ireland, because he was missing through injury.


EX-CITY goalkeeper David James has outlined his desire to become a manager when his playing days are over.
David is a very bright guy who does not suffer fools gladly. He has played under a lot of managers and even though he is sure to be influenced by them, I think he will stamp his own authority and style on the job.

He has enjoyed a long, successful career and I am sure he has made a lot of contacts in that time.