Standards drop at faltering City

MANCHESTER City goalkeeper Joe Hart admits the team’s performances have dropped below the minimum recently - but he denies the team is suffering from a lack of leadership.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side was outplayed in every department in the 2–0 defeat at Stoke. City’s defence has recorded only two clean sheets in the last 18 matches. It is no coincidence the absence of captain Vincent Kompany to injury has affected their stability at the back.

Hart, returning after injury and captain in Kompany’s absence, believes they have enough quality to cope without the influential Belgian.

“After a 2–0 loss it’s probably easy to say Kompany was missed, but we’ll stick together as a squad, work for each other and get through this.”

A fourth away game without a win – and the third in a row on the road without a goal – has seen City overtaken by Leicester and Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. Hart admits they have to raise their game, starting tomorrow when they host Borussia Munchengladbach needing a win and a favour from Sevilla to top their Champions League group to give them an easier quarter–final draw.

“At the level we’re playing at, we need to turn out performances of seven out of 10 at least every week and rely on some players to produce eights and nines,” added the England international.

“That’s how we should be playing and we’re not.”