Phil Foden has his smile back - but Man City stars know it is not enough

Manchester City players are in a no-win position as they look to start the season with a point to prove

Phil Foden

There was a bounce to Phil Foden at the City Football Academy - and it wasn't just his hair. Foden buzzed about the session on Tuesday afternoon before coming over to speak to media with a big grin on his face.

He looked happier and more relaxed than he has done on a number of others occasions where he has given interviews or been asked to give them, and that has chimed with what people who have watched him train all summer have said about a player who too often last season came without a smile amid physical and mental burnout.

Foden said all the right things about the Manchester City squad needing fresh blood but also that everyone has the hunger to go again. He has a point to prove to get back to his best and so do his teammates.

John Stones, standing next to him, said much the same. Don't write them off because they are feeling good again and when that happens things start to click for a team who know how to win games and how to win titles.

It is exactly what fans will want to hear, especially given last year was so chastening, but at the same time it isn't enough. Precisely because last year was so chastening, words won't be enough to convince everyone that this is a team ready to challenge again for every piece of silverware going.

Only performances will do that, and even then it will take time. There was a temptation to start getting giddy after City absolutely thumped Juventus in the Club World Cup, and they then should have been out of sight against Al Hilal in the last-16 before a familiar collapse saw them with more egg on their faces.

It was a shame in particular for Foden, who had impressed in the first game and then scored a sumptuous goal off the bench to equalise against the Saudi side, but yet again City weren't good enough. A tournament that was the first chance for the Blues to back up their words and they couldn't.

You would still rather they come out with the things they are doing - everyone wants to see the fire and the hunger. Between now and the opening game of the season, expect more of the same from anyone who speaks.

It is just that all of the players are in a no-win position where they only real way they can prove the point they want to is through consistent performances and results in significant games.

If Foden is still smiling in a few months, City fans can start to get excited again.

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