Adebayor ready to fight for City place

Emmanuel Adebayor wants to fight for a starting role at Manchester City despite admitting he could leave the club in the January transfer window.

The 26-year-old had to contend himself with a place on the bench for City’s opener away to Tottenham last weekend when boss Roberto Mancini opted to employ Carlos Tevez as a lone striker.

After that match Adebayor sought out Mancini to discuss his role at the club and while the Togo striker revealed he was reassured he had a key role to play he intimated a winter move was not beyond the realms of possibility.

“I had a chat with the manager after the Spurs game which was good. But managers can change,” he told The People.

“Today they love you and then you think you are going to be moving.

“I don’t want to look too far into the future. Who knows? By January maybe the manager will tell me to leave – or maybe I will ask to leave.

“What is important for me is to have clear focus on playing for City and fighting for my place in the team and that is what I intend to do.

“As a footballer you have lots of difficult times. Being sat on the bench for the first game of the season at Tottenham was tough for me and I admit I was a little bit upset.”

Adebayor admits he has become an “awkward” player to manage after he was involved in a near-death experience when the Togo team bus he was travelling on was ambushed by gunman en route to the African Nations Cup earlier this year.

An assistant coach and the team’s press officer – plus a driver – were killed and Adebayor said he has since re-evaluated what was important to him.

“I have the chance to be alive when I could have been dead after what happened at the Cup of Nations,” he added.

“That experience can maybe make me a bit awkward as I know what I want now. My priority from now on is always going to be my family.

“But, you have to fight for your place. I am very happy to be part of this club and I love the challenge of making it at City.

“Now I’m waiting for my chance. I’m playing for one of the big teams in England and all I need now is to be playing games and scoring goals.”