“It wasn’t our aim to be here” – Phil Foden outlines how Manchester City can salvage poor season by their standards | OneFootball

Manchester City must qualify for the Champions League and win the FA Cup if they are to rescue a disappointing campaign, Phil Foden has declared.

The Blues have failed to win the Premier League for a fifth consecutive year as they sit in fifth place in the league table with nine games left to play.

The PFA Players’ Player of the Year from last season, Foden has himself failed to replicate his heroics from a sensational 2023-24 campaign that saw him score 27 times and provide 13 assists in 53 games across all competitions for his boyhood club.

This term, the 24-year-old has struggled for consistency in a much weaker Manchester City side than any he has been part of since his promotion to the first-team in the historic 2017/18 Centurions season.

City, who play Bournemouth in their FA Cup quarter-final tie after the international break, have 27 points to play for in the Premier League and there is little margin for error in a tight race for Champions League qualification.

“It (Champions League qualification) is so important. I feel if we come up with the FA Cup and finish in the top four it will save a poor season in my eyes,” Foden told the PA news agency at a session McDonald’s Fun Football partnership with UK Deaf Sport.

“It is one of our main targets now to make sure that we are playing Champions League next season. It’s in our hands if we win our games as we’ve got to believe in what we can do and believe we can do it.

“It’ll be a real positive and maybe we’ll go into next season with a bit more confidence. It wasn’t our aim to be here at the start of the season but that’s football sometimes, you never know what’s round the corner.”

With 16 goal contributions in 38 outings this term, Foden has shown glimpses of his best form since December but inconsistency and burnout have been the underlying reasons for Manchester City’s season after years of unparalleled success under Guardiola.

“There’s always teams improving and challenging us and yes, we’ve had a bit of a slip this season but we can still finish it off strong and save the season if you like,” the six-time Premier League winner added.

“If I ever win anything again I am going to make sure I enjoy it even more because it shows how quickly things can change, one hundred per cent. What we were doing in the past isn’t normal so it shows the level of football which was set and how challenging it is to do what we did.

“People have seasons like this and it’s about how you come back. You can’t always be at the top and this happens, it’s a part of football. There’s going to be ups and down. So I’m definitely going to enjoy it if I win more things in the future.”