Santa Cruz: City can win title

Roque Santa Cruz insists Manchester City are capable of winning the Premier League this season.

The Paraguayan striker was one of City’s major summer signings and he made his debut in Monday night’s 3-1 victory over West Ham.

The Eastlands outfit have started the season in fine style with five wins in six league games and Santa Cruz believes City are now very much in title contention.

“We’re not only looking for that to happen in the future,” said Santa Cruz.

“We’re looking to do it now. It’s happening already.

“The boss looks absolutely confident in every aspect of the job and he also makes you feel that you can always perform at your best, by doing what he tells you in training.

“And I think players believe that what the manager tells them will actually help them to perform at their best.

“We all came here to help the team get to the top and everybody has been doing a fantastic job.

“It’s been frustrating for me, sitting on the sidelines, but it makes things easier when the team is playing great and you’re seeing things are going in the right direction.”

Santa Cruz knows he will have a battle on his hands to gain a first-team slot with Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Robinho all competing for a place.

“Every player will need to push himself to the best of his capability, because there are a lot of people on the bench who are keen to get in,” he continued.

“That situation will help everybody to produce his best. But it also has a lot to do with the individual character of the players.

“Adebayor is a happy lad and I’m sure he won’t be too happy if he isn’t playing. But you can tell he won’t be moaning and will perform just the same when he does get selected.

“Carlos is the same. You know that at some point you will be sitting on the bench and everybody has to be ready and at his best at all times.

“Everybody knows the type of player Carlos is, so it was no surprise to see him scoring twice against West Ham.

“His English is getting better but, because he and I speak Spanish, we’re closer than some other members of the team.

“My situation is different because I need a lot of games to get my fitness. I’ll try to get that by playing in the reserves but I’ll be working hard to try to get into the first team.

“It was clearly my decision last season to be involved with a team that can do great things.

“At this club you’ll always have a chance to be involved and influence things, and you need to be focused on trying to perform whenever you’re chosen.

“With the facilities and the players we have at this club, you have the best opportunity to show what you can do.

“I feel very, very happy to be here and I think I’ll perform fantastically. I’m pleased to be back and I just want to keep playing from now on.”