Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku has insisted that the champions are still firmly in the Premier League title race despite recent criticism over their poor run of results, softfootball report.
Pep Guardiola’s side responded to their struggles with a convincing 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, with Doku scoring and providing an assist as City reduced the gap to league leaders Liverpool to seven points.
The Belgium international admitted that the team has faced criticism in recent weeks but revealed that City players remain focused on their own performances rather than outside opinions.
“They can say whatever they want,” Doku said, as reported by BBC Sport.
“We just stay in our bubble and we’re still in December.
“If they think it’s over, let them think it’s over. We are going to look game by game, try to win as much as possible and we will see at the end.”
Doku, who returned to the starting lineup against Forest, believes City’s mentality remains strong despite their difficult period. He explained that the team understands the nature of football, where praise can quickly turn into criticism.
“At the end of the day, when everything goes well they’re going to hype you up. When everything goes bad, you’re the worst.
“We don’t listen, we concentrate on ourselves in our bubble. We know together we’ll be stronger.”
City had entered the Forest clash on a four-game losing streak in the Premier League, making the victory an important boost for the squad’s confidence.
“We were waiting for this win,” Doku added. “We know it’s difficult as a team. We are used to winning so when we had some difficulties to win a game it’s difficult.
We didn’t listen to the noise of the outside. We just kept working and grinding.
