Vincent Kompany believes Manchester City's desire to retain "that special feeling" derived from a record 17 consecutive Premier League wins will motivate them at Newcastle United on Wednesday night.
The captain wants the players to forget Saturday's 4-0 defeat of Bournemouth and focus on the challenge presented by Rafael Benítez's team. "We have to keep it going," he said. "When you are on such a run you want to put it aside straight away and think about the next one, because you know how little it takes to lose that special feeling. So we have gone into Christmas with a feeling of duty towards the game at Newcastle."
High-pressure situations
Pep Guardiola’s squad are also aware of the need to guard against complacency. “We all have a role to say something – there are a lot of experienced lads in the team,” Kompany added. “We do mention it but the manager will have mentioned it many, many times as well.”
City lead second-placed Manchester United by 12 points with a game in hand but Kompany said: “It’s too early to draw any conclusions. I don’t feel like there is too much difference from other seasons – we have been in high-pressure situations before, like when we had to play United [in the derby this month].
“Those are games that are completely different to any other games you will play but we are in a position where we can just focus on our football and the games. We don’t need to focus on the league or anything else other than winning the game.”
