UEFA Champions League: Eliaquim Mangala Thoughts

Manchester City's  Eliaquim Mangala gave his thoughts ahead of the club's UEFA Champions League Group Stage match on Wednesday.

"I am convinced that we have to do better with the players we have here, because we want to help the club develop."

"We have a well-defined project and we must do well - we have no other choice. In the last few years we've stuck at the same level, and at some point, if you want to develop, you need to take a step forward, and that needs to happen on the pitch.

"We still have games left to qualify, so we shouldn't sound the alarm yet; we just have to show that this game against Juventus was an off day and keep on working on what we do well and get rid of what didn't go too well."

On the signing of Nicolas Otamendi:

"Of course, Nicolas' arrival makes the team stronger. And it means that every single player has to improve, because you know that if you take things a bit easier, then you will be replaced by someone else.

"I know Nico really well, because I played with him at Porto - I know his skills and his level. And you know that if you are not giving your best, he is there. It's the same with every player. "

On the Premier League:

"You cannot say, with the team that we have, we will only focus on the league. No, with the squad that we have, we can do well in every competition, and that is really important. Sometimes you feel some fatigue and injuries will come - that happens during the season. But the fact of having players like Nico, Kevin *De Bruyne) or Raheem (Sterling), it’s very important for us. "We know we have the right squad to go a long way in this competition, but we realize that the competition is very difficult, it’s very different from the league. "When you look at what happened at Tottenham, we are amongst the top teams but will still lost. Chelsea are having a difficult time in the league, and they were held at Newcastle."