Toure praises squad depth

Tough talking from the skipper:

“We have to make sure we build on the result from Saturday,” declared the skipper. It is no good beating Chelsea with all the emotion that entailed and then coming home from Bolton with nothing.

“We have got to make sure we remain mentally tough, it is not enough to beat the best sides we have to produce the same against everyone.”

“What is encouraging is the depth we have in the squad. We lost both full backs during the game and Craig Bellamy and Stephen Ireland before it but we still deserved our win over a team that was five points clear at the top of the table.”

Toure makes an important part about the depth in the squad and with players like Johnson, Kompany, Robinho and (to a lesser extent) Santa Cruz returning to full fitness the squad has a very strong feel to it, with some quality players likely to miss out on a place on the bench, let alone the starting eleven.

As much as anything, this depth will likely build competition rather than divisiveness (as we were told by some in the media prior to the season) and there does appear to be a strong unity within the squad at present - evidenced by goal celebration and in particular the reaction at the final whistle on Saturday.

The depth in quality is something that will also likely be utilised over the next couple of months during the busy Christmas and New Year period and throughout January with the Carling Cup sem-finals and FA Cup tie(s), when Toure and Adebayor will be absent on international duty.