Captain Richard Dunne has called on his team-mates to embrace the challenge Manchester City's new-found wealth has brought and prove they are good enough to play a part in the club's future.
Since the takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in August, City have been bankrolled by money from owner Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi.
He authorised the British transfer record signing of Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5million in August, and provided the finances for January signings Shay Given, Nigel de Jong, Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bridge.
That has increased competition for places within the squad and with further significant additions certain to arrive at the end of the season Dunne believes the current crop of players have to step up their game.
"The manager can go and buy any player he wants now. It's not always been like that at City, and it creates a new challenge," he said.
"People see all the money and think 'You're the richest club. You should win every game and you should be the best'.
"It just takes a little bit of time. Every player here who has a contract has the chance to be a part of it.
"It's up to us to impress the manager and make sure that, come transfer windows and team selections, you're in it."
The strength of the squad will be tested over the coming fortnight as Thursday's home UEFA Cup match against Aalborg is followed on Sunday with a trip to Chelsea before the team head out to Denmark for the second leg of their European tie and then return to tackle Sunderland three days later.
Dunne claimed the squad was relishing the prospect of such big games as they look to maintain a challenge on two fronts.
"Players always say they would rather play than train. We've done a lot of hard training, and we're feeling fit," he said.
"We're feeling fit enough to see us through the season. Games are what we want."
The captain also feels a good run in the UEFA Cup can only benefit City as they try to raise their reputation to match their standing as one of the wealthiest clubs in the world.
"The longer we stay in Europe, the more our name is lingering around, and the more people will think that City are actually quite a decent side," he added in the Manchester Evening News.
"We want this UEFA Cup run to continue. It's in our hands, and we feel with the draw that we've got a chance of progressing."
He authorised the British transfer record signing of Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5million in August, and provided the finances for January signings Shay Given, Nigel de Jong, Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bridge.
That has increased competition for places within the squad and with further significant additions certain to arrive at the end of the season Dunne believes the current crop of players have to step up their game.
"The manager can go and buy any player he wants now. It's not always been like that at City, and it creates a new challenge," he said.
"People see all the money and think 'You're the richest club. You should win every game and you should be the best'.
"It just takes a little bit of time. Every player here who has a contract has the chance to be a part of it.
"It's up to us to impress the manager and make sure that, come transfer windows and team selections, you're in it."
The strength of the squad will be tested over the coming fortnight as Thursday's home UEFA Cup match against Aalborg is followed on Sunday with a trip to Chelsea before the team head out to Denmark for the second leg of their European tie and then return to tackle Sunderland three days later.
Dunne claimed the squad was relishing the prospect of such big games as they look to maintain a challenge on two fronts.
"Players always say they would rather play than train. We've done a lot of hard training, and we're feeling fit," he said.
"We're feeling fit enough to see us through the season. Games are what we want."
The captain also feels a good run in the UEFA Cup can only benefit City as they try to raise their reputation to match their standing as one of the wealthiest clubs in the world.
"The longer we stay in Europe, the more our name is lingering around, and the more people will think that City are actually quite a decent side," he added in the Manchester Evening News.
"We want this UEFA Cup run to continue. It's in our hands, and we feel with the draw that we've got a chance of progressing."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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