Erling Haaland says Manchester City ‘really motivated’ to turn season around - ‘We've been struggling a bit’

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Manchester City will be aiming to secure a third consecutive Premier League victory when they face Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. The reigning champions still face a huge uphill battle to retain their title for an unprecedented fifth consecutive season, but Erling Haaland is optimistic that City can continue to kick on in the second half of the campaign.

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Erling Haaland explained Manchester City are "really motivated" to turn their season around ahead of their Premier League clash away at Brentford – live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Pep Guardiola’s side appear to have turned a corner following a sobering run of one win in nine Premier League games, with back-to-back victories over Leicester City and West Ham United respectively.

The Norwegian sounded an ominous warning to the rest of the Premier League and says the squad is as hungry as ever to continue that recent upturn in form.

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"For me, it's motivation," he told TNT Sports Mexico in an exclusive interview.

"It's easy to say you're hurting when you lose, but it's also a nice feeling when you win. It's a motivation to do better and that’s why I really like football.

"Every single team has to find the fire inside their bodies to give them motivation to run an extra metre, to block that shot, to shoot in the back of the net.

"I'm really motivated, and I think everyone else is motivated to turn things around and to attack the second half of the season."

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Nonetheless, it has been a disappointing campaign for City by their own supremely high standards, and they currently sit 12 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool.

However, Haaland is not giving up hope of landing major honours this season with just under half of the season still remaining.

He continued: "We've been struggling a bit, and it hasn't been good enough; simple as that.

"We haven't been performing well enough, we haven't won enough games, and I haven't been performing to my best.

"That's the truth, and we have to work even harder now because there are still many games and many months left of the season to turn things around.

"We have already done that a little bit, and it's going to get better and better. I'm ready to do whatever it takes, and it's going to change."

The frontman was also quizzed about managing the pressure which comes from competing at the highest level.

"I think it's about staying calm in your head and to enjoy the pressure, but also not to care too much about it either," he explained.

"It's a good thing if you use it in a positive way, but it can easily give you negative thoughts, so you have to balance it perfectly, and it's not easy.

"But in the end, the club has been playing under pressure for so many years, and we know what to do. We've been winning so much and this club has been winning a lot before I came here, so everyone is used to it.

"It's about staying positive and working hard."

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