Citizen Garrido Targets City Starts

Javier Garrido has been at Eastlands since the summer of 2007, but it took until last weekend for him to really make the City fans aware of his presence.

The 23-year-old left-back netted a stunning free-kick against Liverpool, his first goal for the club, before the Reds stormed back to win the game 3-2 and keep their title hopes on track.

Garrido, the first Basque player to play for the club, has nevertheless taken enough confidence from the Reds encounter to announce his intention to establish himself as a first team regular under Mark Hughes.

The former Real Sociedad man told Guillem Balague's official website: "I've been in and out of the team, competing with Michael Ball, due to my injury problems.

"Now the plan is to secure a starting place. From there I hope to have a good season and really show what I'm capable of."

Garrido, a £1.5m signing from Real Sociedad, admits that the nouveau riche Blues are likely to splash out on more reinforcements, slimming his chances of success even further.

"Players hear the names of others who could be coming in and of course worry about yourself," he admitted, "But if you focus, perform well, remain positive and realise that it's a fantastic opportunity to play here, then you'll get chances."


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