Robinho tells City to aim for the top

Brazil star Robinho has told his Manchester City team-mates to aim for the top of the table after their 2-1 win over English Premier League leaders Chelsea last weekend.

Despite that victory – which ended a run of seven straight league draws – City are 11 points adrift of Chelsea, albeit they have a game in hand.

And Robinho, a British record 32.5 million pounds (52.8 million dollars) signing, insists the expensively-assembled City side should have ambitions as big as their price tags.

“We were really happy to win on Saturday,” said Robinho. “But the most important thing now is to win. There are still a lot of games to go and we want to be top.”

Robinho has recently returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for three months and, despite not being used to playing at this time of year while with Spanish giants Real Madrid, he cannot wait for the busy Christmas and New Year fixture schedule.

“I am just happy to be playing,” said the 25-year-old. “I feel excellent. I am strong, physically and mentally, and I want to play in every game. I like to play football anywhere, at any time.”

City could have Craig Bellamy back for Saturday’s league match away to Bolton despite both the Wales striker and Vladimir Weiss missing the Chelsea game to avoid passing on the swine flu virus to their team-mates.

“Players come in every day with sniffles, coughs and colds and the doctor has to determine whether it is the onset of something more serious,” assistant manager Mark Bowen told the Manchester Evening News.

“It is his decision whether they have to be sent home.”

Someone who won’t be featuring at the Reebok Stadium this weekend is England defender Wayne Bridge.

The former Chelsea full-back was carried off on a stretcher last Saturday after a clash with Juliano Belletti.

Scans have since revealed Bridge suffered a knee injury which could put him out of action for up to six weeks.

If that diagnosis is correct, it would mean Bridge would miss both legs of City’s League Cup semi-final against Manchester United as well as the FA Cup third round tie with Middlesbrough.

But Bowen hopes Bridge will be back sooner than expected.

“It depends on his recovery but Wayne tells us he is a good healer and he is a good professional, so we are hoping it will be sooner,” he said.