MX23RW : Monday, April 14 03:07:50| >> :120:15630:15630:

Micah Richards: 'My belief was shattered at Manchester City'

Micah Richards admits that his "belief was shattered" at Manchester City when he was made out to be the "scapegoat" during last season's FA Cup match against Watford.

Micah Richards has admitted that his belief was "shattered" at Manchester City after he was made to be the "scapegoat" following an FA Cup match last season.

The 26-year-old, who made his senior debut in 2005 after coming through the youth ranks at City, moved to Serie A side Fiorentina on loan in the summer.

The full-back, who dropped down the rankings under both Roberto Mancini and current manager Manuel Pellegrini, has been frank about his time at the North-West club since moving to Italy.

During an interview with The Guardian, Richards recalls the moment when he was pulled off at half time while 2-0 down against Watford in an FA Cup match, which City went on to win 4-2 back in January last season.

"I've not always played well for City, but I'd never been the scapegoat, coming off at half time when in my head I thought I was having a decent game," Richards told the newspaper. "It was weird, unnatural, it had never happened to me before and it felt like no matter what I did it wasn't good enough any more. That was a turning point.

"The manager did try to explain it to me. He said he didn't want to rush my fitness, but I wasn't playing in the Premier League, I wasn't playing in the Champions League, so at least, in the FA Cup against Watford at home, give me 90 minutes. After that, my belief was shattered."

Richards made his debut for Fiorentina in last night's 3-0 win over Guingamp in the Europa League.

ID:177691: cacheID:177691:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2647:
Written by
Danielle Joynson
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Bayern Munich's Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben celebrates scoring during the extra-time of the DFB German Cup final football match BVB Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on May 17, 2014
Read Next:
Champions League 2014-15: Group E preview
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool32237274314376
2Arsenal321712357273063
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest32176951381357
4Newcastle UnitedNewcastle31175956401656
5Manchester CityMan City32167962422055
6Chelsea32159856391754
7Aston Villa3215984946354
8Fulham3113994742548
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton32121285149248
10Bournemouth311291051401145
11Brentford32127135248443
12Crystal Palace311110104140143
13Everton32814103438-438
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd32108143845-738
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs321141760491137
16Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32105174761-1435
17West Ham UnitedWest Ham3298153654-1835
18Ipswich TownIpswich3249193367-3421
19Leicester CityLeicester3246222772-4518
20Southampton3224262377-5410


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!