Stephen Ireland spent last summer working hard on his fitness to ensure he had a future at Manchester City. The Irish midfielder admits he hit rock bottom last season when City were thumped 8-1 by Middlesbrough under then manager Sven Goran Eriksson.

While Ireland was shattered by the experience he claims some of his team-mates were not unduly affected.

'It was the last day of the season and we had lost 8-1 at Boro," he told the Daily Mail.

"I didn't get the team bus. I got Jessica to drive me home and I thought to myself: 'This can't carry on. My career and my reputation are not right'.

"After that game we didn't even get a b******ing. I was so depressed at seeing that people didn't really care. People were laughing. It was the worst moment of all for me.

"I decided that wasn't a route I was going down. I didn't want to live my life travelling home from big defeats with a smile on my face. I just felt like I had to change something after everything that had happened.

"So, the next day I started training. I went up to the hills in Glossop with a martial arts expert, training from 7 to 11am. I dedicated my whole summer to working with this guy.

"I came back super fit and wanted to be number one in the team."