Beware ‘new manager syndrome’ at Liverpool, warns City’s Toure

REUTERS – Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has warned his team mates not to fall victim to the “new manager syndrome” for a second Premier League game in a row when Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Bottom side Aston Villa, with freshly appointed Frenchman Remi Garde at the helm, held league leaders City to a 0-0 draw at Villa Park before the international break, and Toure is wary of history repeating itself at the weekend.

“To be honest with you, I don’t like it when a new manager comes to a club because all the players want to impress him,” the Ivorian told the club’s website (www.mcfc.co.uk).

“We had the perfect example of the new manager syndrome against Aston Villa which made it a tougher game – we had a lot of chances to score and if we had taken just one of them it would have been a different situation.

Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers at Anfield last month and Toure expects Liverpool to be fired up, especially after losing their last league match 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace. They are languishing in 10th on 17 points, nine points adrift of City.

“When, new managers come in, all the players want to give 100 percent and fight for everything possible. Liverpool are a top club, a top side and it will be a massive game on Saturday.”

The 32-year-old Toure decided not to join his national team during the international break, missing the African champions’ World Cup qualifiers, and said he was well rested.

“It’s tough sometimes when you are involved in a lot of games through the season. I often spend the international breaks with the national team on top of my club commitments so it has been good to have a more restful fortnight.

“Now I’m ready to get back to work and all my focus is on Saturday. We have a fantastic game to play against Liverpool and we need to get back to winning games, though we are expecting a hard match.”

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Ken Ferris)