Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne opens up on festive football

Kevin De Bruyne will tell Manuel Pellegrini if he's feeling run down over the Christmas period

 

KEVIN DE BRUYNE has promised to tell Manuel Pellegrini if his first Christmas in English football leaves him burnt-out.

 

Belgium international De Bruyne is bracing himself for four games in 12 games starting with Arsenal on Monday and followed by games against Sunderland, Leicester and Watford.

City boss Pellegrini has admitted that De Bruyne was one of the players most at risk from fatigue and, significantly, left him on the bench for Saturday's win over Swansea, although he came on for the final half an hour.

And De Bruyne knows he must be honest over his physical state - for his and the team's sake.

 

He said: "It's a busy time of year and it's difficult to say how I'll feel personally by the end of December because I've never experienced the Christmas period in England before.

"At Wolfsburg we had two-and-a-half weeks off but it's something new to adapt to.

"It's been tough so far because we've had a lot of games each month. If I'm on the field I'll always give it my all but sometimes afterwards you think 'yeah, maybe I was a little bit tired' and maybe it would have been better to have had a rest.

 

"But you don't think about these things when you are playing. At the moment I'm fine and we'll see how things go, but if I was feeling fatigue then I would tell the coach."

De Bruyne has played down comparisons with Barcelona star Luis Suarez, prompted by his ability to impact a game either with goals or assists.

Since joining City he has scored nine and assisted nine goals but said: "I don't think I'm the same kind of player as Suarez. Maybe from a statistics point at the moment we are similar but we are two different types of players.

 

"A lot of people talk about your contribution when you score and make a lot of goals, which is nice, but it's not something I really think about.

"During the game I just try to help the team by doing the things I do best and creating opportunities is one of my strengths.

"If my team-mates score the goals then obviously I'm going to have plenty of assists to my name and the team will benefit."