Man City must ‘use the pain’ to return to winning ways, says Stones

Manchester City need to harness the pain they are feeling amid a poor run of form and use it to get their Premier League campaign back on track, defender John Stones said after Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa.

“We have to use the hurt and the pain that is within us, our stomachs, our brains, wherever it might be, as motivation and fuel to put things right. I think everyone has that desire,” Stones told City’s website.

“We’ve been in these positions in previous seasons. I don’t think we or everyone should be hyping about what is going to happen. I think we have to stay calm as a team, which we will do tomorrow once we’ve analysed it and settled down emotionally.”