Gael Clichy and Manchester City have shown a scintillating form at home which they hope to carry on the road to West Bromwich Albion with them on Wednesday. Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
Gael Clichy and Manchester City have shown a scintillating form at home which they hope to carry on the road to West Bromwich Albion with them on Wednesday. Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

Football

Gael Clichy: ‘We need to go away from home and ... pick up points’ as City travel to West Brom

The Manchester City defender said ahead of a clash with West Brom on Wednesday that his side 'are confident it will get better' on the road.

Agence France-Presse

Manchester City defender Gael Clichy admitted he is confident the club can sustain a Premier League title challenge provided they address their troublesome away form.

City travel to West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday with the worst record on the road of any of the top nine teams in the table.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side have won just once – a 3-1 victory at West Ham United in October – this season in their six league games away from the Etihad Stadium, with four defeats and one draw.

Despite their travel sickness, City are up to third in the table thanks to an imperious home record and are now just six points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

However, left-back Clichy, 28, accepted City must drastically improve on a return of four points from games outside of Manchester, starting with their match at The Hawthorns.

“We need to go away from home and make sure we start to pick up points,” Clichy said. “You have to look at the positive side – even if we lost against Cardiff, Aston Villa and Sunderland away, we still managed to play better than the opposition.

“Maybe we need to be more focused in the last pass, the last moment, in the box, and score the first goal. When you score the first goal, the game is different.

“But this is a new team with a new manager and new players, and we are only going to get better. We are confident it will get better, hopefully starting on Wednesday at West Brom.

“We know what we have to do, to do our own thing and try not to lose points at home. Taking game after game will be a key point for us and hopefully we can now improve our away record.

“I don’t see why we won’t be there or thereabouts at the end of the season,” Clichy added.

City have been boosted recently by the performances of attacking midfielder Samir Nasri, who scored twice in their 3-0 win over Swansea last weekend.

And Clichy claimed his France international colleague has benefitted from being given a run in the starting line-up by manager Pellegrini due to injuries to other players.

“I have known Samir for a few years now and I am not surprised that he is doing well – not just against Swansea but from the start of the season.

“Samir has always had this quality and the fact that he has been playing for a few months shows through his form. When he is like this he is hard to play against, but great to play with.”

West Brom know December, which starts with the home games with City and Norwich City, is an important month and will determine whether they can beat last season’s record Premier League finish of eighth.

“Going into Christmas and the new year we know it’s a very important part of the season for every club in the Premier League,” said defender Billy Jones.

“We know we’re in a good position squad-wise. The gaffer can make changes and the team won’t be weakened. We go into every game positively.

“I think Saturday at Newcastle was only our second loss in 10 games. It’s only the second time we’ve lost away from home so there are still positives there in the overall picture of the season.

“But we know we need to turn draws into wins. Hopefully that starts with two massive home games beginning on Wednesday night against Manchester City.”

West Brom youngster Saido Berahino has finally put pen to paper on a new three-and-a-half year contract to stay at the club until June 2017.

School counsellors on mental well-being

Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.

Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.

Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.

“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.

“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.

“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.

“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”

Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.

The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.

At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.

“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.

“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.

"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”