Belgian-Ghanaian winger Jeremy Doku urges Man City to show greater mental strength after slow start

Jeremy Doku has called on Manchester City to show greater mental resilience following consecutive defeats in the Premier League.

The winger voiced concerns about the team’s fragile response to setbacks as he joined up with Belgium’s national side for this week’s World Cup qualifiers.

Doku, who was born in Antwerp to Ghanaian parents, is part of Belgium’s squad preparing to face Liechtenstein on Thursday and Kazakhstan at home on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the international fixtures, the 23-year-old reflected on City’s shaky start to the campaign, which has left them with just three points from their opening three games.

“Things aren’t going very well,” Doku admitted. City opened with victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers but have since lost to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion.

“After the first match, everyone felt good, but after that, things got more difficult. I think we’re letting our heads drop a bit too much when we concede a goal. Mentally, we need to be stronger.”

The Belgian international pointed to City’s hectic schedule as a possible factor, noting that their involvement in the Club World Cup in June reduced pre-season preparation time.

“I only started training again on July 28th. We barely had any pre-season. The last time I had six weeks of pre-season was at Anderlecht. That was five years ago. But we’re not the only ones in this situation; it applies to many other clubs,” he said.

Doku also admitted his own form has yet to reach the required level. After starting against Wolves on August 16, he has since been left out of the starting XI.

“Personally, I haven’t started the season very well. I’m not in my best form yet. You haven’t seen Jeremy at his best yet, but he’ll come soon.”