Jérémy Doku believes Manchester City’s start to the Premier League season has been marred by a tendency to become negative after falling behind.
Pep Guardiola’s side claimed an emphatic win over Wolves on the opening weekend of the new campaign, but have since fallen to defeat against Tottenham and Brighton.
It represents the Spaniard’s worst ever start to a league season, and he suggested afterwards that his players were too busy “thinking of the consequences” after taking a first-half lead and “forgot to play”.
‘I think we are letting our heads drop a bit too much’
Doku, who is on international duty with Belgium, has acknowledged that “things aren’t going well” and believes City must show greater resilience in the face of adversity.
“After the first match, everyone felt good,” said Doku in advance of his country’s World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan. “But after that, things got more difficult.
“I think we are letting our heads drop a bit too much when we concede a goal. Mentally, we need to be stronger.”
The winger pointed to City’s involvement in the Club World Cup this summer as a possible explanation. The club’s run to the last 16 in the US meant City had barely a fortnight to prepare for the new campaign and Doku suggested the squad has suffered as a result.
‘We barely had any pre-season’
“I only started training again on July 28,” he said. “We barely had any pre-season. The last time I had six weeks of pre-season was at Anderlecht – and that was five years ago.
“But we’re not the only ones in this situation. It applies to many other clubs.”
The 23-year-old was limited to a substitute’s role against Tottenham and Brighton, but has vowed to recapture his best form and sees playing for his country as a good opportunity to do so.
“Personally, I haven’t started the season very well, I’m not in my best form yet,” he said. “You haven’t seen Jeremy at his best yet, but he’ll come soon. That’s why it’s important to be here with the Red Devils and gain some confidence.”
