Manchester City star Yaya Toure has insisted criticism of his performances won’t distract him from concentrating on helping the champions overhaul leaders Chelsea in the Premier League title race.
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Ivory Coast midfielder Toure scored the opening goal with a typical 20-yard strike as City leapfrogged Southampton into second place with a 3-0 win at the Saints’ St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday.
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City are now six points adrift of Chelsea heading into their trip to Sunderland on Wednesday.
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The 31-year-old Toure has had a difficult few months, including having to cope with the death of his brother, but he is now focused solely on football.
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“For me the most important thing is I try to do my best for the team,” said Toure. “Sometimes people are not thinking we are human beings, people are always trying to criticise you even though you are a human being.
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“So I never think about those things, I always try to focus on my team.”
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He added: “The Premier League is important, and whenever we lose we will get criticised.
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“But we’ve just got to fight until the end; our squad is fantastic and we know exactly how to fight all the way in this league.
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“Teams will always step up their game against us and we know we’ve got to try to keep pace with Chelsea.”
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City will head to the north-east to face a Sunderland side fresh from holding Chelsea to a goalless draw at the Stadium of Light last weekend.
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