Pellegrini backs Yaya up despite critics

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has urged the
critics to lay off midfielder Yaya Toure.

The Ivory Coast international was branded a "joke" by Sky
Sports pundit Jamie Carragher following his efforts during
the defeat at Arsenal in December, and many City fans
agreed.

Toure's detractors both in the press and on the terraces
have tended to focus on his perceived lack of work-rate over
the years, but Pellegrini has hailed the midfielder's
importance and insists he deserves much more credit.

“He’s not only scoring important goals," the City boss told
the press. "He’s scored important goals in the last few
games, but I think that Yaya gives very good play to our
team.

"He’s the midfielder [playing] where there are the most
amount of passes, trying to make the last and decisive pass,
so I think he’s a very important player. A lot of media
criticise his body language and the way he runs, but if you
had all the statistics of Yaya after every game, he’s the one
player that runs more.”

Toure will be 33 by the end of the current season and many
pundits have suggested that he should be rested at times in
order to reap the best of his talents in the biggest matches.

While Pellegrini admits that the former Barcelona man could
perhaps benefit from some time on the sidelines, he has
clearly been swayed by the midfielder's work ethic.

“I think that every player must always want to play every
game," he added. "That’s a good mentality. Yaya always
tries to play.

"Maybe for the amount of games we must play, it’s not
good for him to play every game. But I’m very happy with
the mentality of those players that they are always ready to
play.”