- Manchester City go into Saturday’s clash with Tottenham after four defeats
- Erling Haaland believes experience will tell in an ominous message to rivals
- Will Ruben Amorim be Man United’s saviour? LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Available wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes every Monday and Thursday
Erling Haaland has called for calm, joking that people are acting like Manchester City have been relegated amid their four-game losing streak.
It is the first time in boss Pep Guardiola’s career that he has lost four games on the bounce, but it appears there is no panic inside the dressing room.
‘Yeah, we lost four in a row. It’s not normal in a club like this. It hurts, it clearly does,’ Haaland told Sky Sports ahead of Saturday night’s showdown against Tottenham.
‘And the motivation is bigger than ever to go on Saturday and to win the game and to get on the run again.’
City’s recent blip has left them five points behind league leaders Liverpool 11 games into the season.
The international break, in that sense, perhaps came at a good time for Haaland and Co to go away, reset, and come back ready to hunt down their Merseyside rival.
Erling Haaland wants people to relax when it comes to Manchester City’s recent losing run
Along with Pep Guardiola, the Man City striker believes their title experience will soon tell
‘I think it was good for everyone to maybe go to their countries and national teams and to restart a little bit,’ the Norwegian added.
‘We lost four in a row but how bad is it? It’s not that bad. It’s not like we got relegated! We’re still second place, we’ve still got plenty of games left.’
City are on a run of winning four Premier League titles in a row and even with their recent drop-off, losing to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, Bournemouth and Brighton in the Premier League, and away to Sporting in the Champions League, many still believe they will get over the line to win a fifth straight championship.
‘I think in the end it’s about experience,’ Haaland continued.
‘When you win, you get more experience. But I think also in the end you need to keep calm, you need to focus on what you can do something with. Is it to speak about the games that we lost? No, it’s not. It’s about trying to make the team win in the next game. That’s my main focus.’
Unsurprisingly, Haaland again tops the scoring charts are is on track for another Golden Boot, with 12 goals from his first 11 games this season.