Good to see Dunne back in old routine

The Manchester City kit manager and former Latics star writes every week for Chron Sport
MANCHESTER City had some dodgy moments and were heading out of the FA Cup at Notts County until Edin Dzeko’s 80th-minute equaliser.

In a dour contest on an awful pitch, the home side caused us all kinds of problems and we are relieved to have made it into the fifth-round draw, despite a replay at Eastlands being less than ideal.

Should we overcome the Magpies at the second time of asking, we will face Aston Villa at home in round five.

When they came to our place about six weeks ago our former captain Richard Dunne was not in their side. But he has forced his way back into the starting line-up, and if we do reach the fifth round, Dunney will get a fantastic reception from the City fans, who voted him their player of the year on three occasions.

His loyalty and commitment was never doubted at City, and I also think he is a very underrated footballer.

He is a great lad and I am glad to see him back in Gerard Houllier’s plans — he is too good a player not to be, frankly.

The news that Adam Johnson will be out of action for three months due to ankle ligament damage is a huge blow not just for the lad himself, but for ourselves and England.

There is nothing worse in football than suffering an injury that keeps you out for a long amount of time, and I feel for Johnno.

He was just starting to establish himself here and was becoming more involved. He has a knack of coming on and changing a game, because he offers something different.

With quick feet, telling runs and a great final delivery, he is always a handful for opposition defences.

Hopefully he is able to recover and come back slightly sooner than has been predicted, because he is an important member of the squad.

The important thing for Johnno now is to be patient and come back as good as ever.