“Regardless of the moment” – Rico Lewis offers honest thoughts on Manchester City future amid difficult season | OneFootball

Manchester City defender Rico Lewis has provided his honest thoughts on the future of the football club amid a difficult campaign for all involved.

Pep Guardiola and his players find themselves with just two main ambitions remaining in the ongoing season, in what is seen as a stark change from previous campaigns that have seen the club competing for the biggest honours deeper into the season.

Having exited the Carabao Cup at the fourth round stage and the Premier League title race throughout November and December, City then fell to a last-16 play-off defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

As such, their worrying form leaves them only in pursuit of a top-four finish in the English top-flight and perhaps a rare shot at silverware in a difficult campaign via the FA Cup, as they take on Plymouth Argyle in the fifth round.

Speaking around Manchester City’s recent 0-2 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League, Rico Lewis was keen to point towards his own personal excitement as to what the future holds for the Etihad Stadium club.

“The structure of the club is so amazing, you don’t win four Premier League titles in a row without that, so I think people forget that quite quickly,” the Manchester City academy graduate told reporters.

He continued, “For me, I’m excited (for the future), I’m always excited to play, be in and around this team, such a good team to be in regardless of the moment we’re in – I appreciate it more than you can imagine.”

The exit of Kyle Walker to AC Milan on loan during the January transfer window opened up a greater opportunity for Lewis to establish himself as Manchester City’s leading operator in the right-back role.

Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the young defender, consistently praising his ability with the ball at his feet and his presence when inverting into defensive midfield, while this week saw the Catalan label the Bury-born full-back as an ‘exceptional defender’.

A further opportunity for Rico Lewis to impress is likely to come in the FA Cup this weekend, when Manchester City welcome Championship side Plymouth Argyle to the Etihad Stadium to battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals.