The defender was in no mood to consider his side's dwindling title hopes after Saturday's goalless draw at Norwich City, curtly insisting they are still able to overhaul Leicester
Vincent Kompany insists Manchester City "are still on track" to win the Premier League title, despite his side labouring to a goalless draw at Norwich City that leaves their challenge hanging by a thread.
Manuel Pellegrini said before the match that his men must win nine of their remaining 10 games if they are to overhaul league leaders Leicester City and claim their third title in five seasons.
Despite starting that run with an uninspiring stalemate against the relegation-threatened Canaries, leaving them nine points off the pace with nine games remaining, Kompany maintained that the chase is still on.
"It leaves nine out of nine, then," he contested when asked if their race is now run. "If that is what the manager said we are still on track."
City, however, have not strung two consecutive league wins together since October and have tasted victory just once in their last five outings - a 4-0 stroll against doomed Aston Villa.
A number of reasons behind their shortcomings have been put forward, including a fragility in defence without Kompany; problems in best accommodating the ageing Yaya Toure when he is fit, and replacing him when he is not; a spate of injuries in attacking positions and also the impending arrival of Pep Guardiola, which Sergio Aguero claimed this week was "pretty crazy".
Pellegrini, though, kept his cards close to his chest when asked for his take: "For different reasons we couldn't be the consistent team that we must be."
But he refuted the suggestion that his team had taken their eye off the ball - on Tuesday they can reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time - or that success in Europe would now take precedence over domestic efforts.
"No, because it is not our mentality," he said. "We are not giving priority to one championship or another one. It is a different competition. It is important to try to continue in the Champions League, winning on Tuesday and arriving at the next stage.
"But that does not mean we are not going to continue to fight for the Premier League.
"On Tuesday we are going to be thinking about the Champions League. When we have finished that game, we are going to continue thinking about the Premier League. We have a game against United at home – we need to win.
"So until the end of the season we will never give up and we are not going to change our mentality. [The thought] that we must just be focused on the Champions League is not our mentality."
- Goal