´It´s hunting season´ – Kompany issues rivals title warning

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany said it is “hunting season” for his team-mates as they seek to overhaul the three sides above them and claim a surprise Premier League title.

City – crowned League Cup champions against Liverpool on Sunday – head to Anfield again on Wednesday where they can keep in touch with Leicester City, Tottenham and Arsenal.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men trail Leicester by 10 points, with two games in hand, and are four and seven off Arsenal and Spurs respectively after playing one game less.

Kompany was part of the City side to produce a late-season surge to claim their first Premier League style in dramatic fashion four years ago and he feels a similar spirit as the business end of the campaign approaches.

“What we’ve learned in our recent history is that moment likes this you just have to get your head down and start racing as much as
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you can,” he said.

“It’s what we call the hunting season now so we’re not going to look back or do anything other than focus on the opponents that we have to play. We just have to make sure that everything we have we leave on the pitch.

“There’s no other way to approach this any more. You can’t come with mathematics or anything like this. We just have to race to the end and see how many of the 36 points we still have to play for we can bag and we’ll be close if we have a lot of them.

“It’s an awkward time of the year – it’s almost as if we have nothing to lose any more. We still have a lot to play for but nothing to lose any more. It’s like all the gates come off.

“That’s how it felt with the performance in [the 3-1 win over Dynamo] Kyiv and against Liverpool at the weekend and that’s the feeling we have the recreate for Wednesday.

“It’s a little bit less calculated and probably more entertainment value for people watching but it’s the only way for us to get there now because we’re in a trailing position.”

With Champions League and Premier League glory still on offer for the League Cup champions in Pellegrini’s final season at the Etihad Stadium, Kompany urged the whole club to play their part.

“It’s a weird feeling but it’s hunting season so it’s better to be chasing than to be chased in some ways,” he added.

“The whole organisation, everyone at the club, has to have the knife between their teeth and know that everyone needs to be as sharp and focused as ever.

“It’s not just the players but the way we all behave. We can get to something special.”