Manchester City midfielder Robinho

With one game in hand and only three points behind the leaders, United, is it time we take City seriously?

I’m not saying for everyone to polish up the Premiership trophy just yet for them, but we would be wrong to dismiss them so easily right now. With Arsenal not playing their best football, it is possible for City to get into the top four. They have already three points over the Gunners with their win earlier in the season.

Can they do better than fourth? Well that is hard to say. City did show a professional performance against West Ham this week, but they need more of that. And in order to be a true contender, they have to be more disciplined at the back. City are letting in too many goals to be a true contender. The goal against West Ham should have never happened since it was completely against run of play.

However, don’t forget they have been winning without Robinho in the squad. The midfielder is still out for a couple of weeks with an ankle injury. So when he comes back things might even get better for them.

The only thing I will continue to reiterate is the manager. Until now Hughes seems to be doing alright, but Sven Goran Eriksson also started well didn’t he? Hughes will have a lot of decisions to make, including team selection – something where I believe at the end of the day he will choose hype over quality. When I say this I am saying GARETH BARRY IS NOT QUALITY. Stop living in denial City fans.

One thing to remember though, is that this team might be able to sneak in when teams like Chelsea are suffering when the African Cup of Nations begins.

City are knocking and it’s hard not to listen.