Down and out: Stephen Ireland has endured a torrid
time at Man City under Roberto Mancini
Stephen Ireland has admitted there is a major question mark over
his Manchester City future.
After earning a PFA young player of the year nomination with
some stellar performances last term, Ireland has struggled badly
this year.
Injury, illness and loss of form have combined to see him go
backwards in his quest for a regular Blues starting slot and having
missed Wednesday night's devastating defeat to Tottenham, has still
only appeared 11 times under Roberto Mancini.
The 23-year-old has never given any indication of a desire to
leave Eastlands. But with a major review of playing staff certain
to follow the failure to secure a Champions League berth next
season, Ireland knows he could be in the firing line.
'There is a question mark over next year for me,' he said. 'I
don't know what will happen. I am contracted to City and all I can
do is carry on doing my job and performing well when I am called
upon.
'If anything changes during the summer it will be down to the
club, not me.'
Ireland only signed a new long-term contract last summer, so it
seems strange to be talking about his future already. But
undoubtedly, this term has not gone as he would have hoped, leaving
him deeply irritated.
'It has been a difficult year because I care so much about my
job,' he said. 'I care about my game and about the club but there
is a lot of frustration bottled up because I have not played as
much as I would have liked.'
