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Premier League

Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge has vowed to prove his critics wrong and establish himself at Eastlands.

Bridge's denfensive capabilities have been questioned after some below-par performances this season, with reports suggesting he could be on his way out of Mark Hughes' plans.

Big-spending City have been linked with a number of full-backs, including Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm, but Bridge is not worried about the speculation.

The England international's performance against Burnley last month was slated by television pundit Alan Hansen, but Bridge is not bothered about being singled out for criticism and feels he has improved from that showing.

"I didn't watch Match of the Day that night but it's not going to hurt or bother anyone," he told The Sun. "I didn't need to watch it to realise I played badly that day.

"Alan Hansen said a few things but I'm not going to cry about it.

"I've come in since and trained hard. Since then I feel I've done well defensively and attacked as much as I could.

"I don't like to think about it too much but it definitely didn't affect me."

Bridge is confident City can finish in the top four this season and he is determined to stick around and enjoy success at the club.

"I want to do well at City - to climb that table and get a Champions League spot," added Bridge.

"I came here to win things. The aim is the top four and the Champions League because that's a massive competition everyone wants to play in.

"We definitely feel we've got the team that can do it. It's just about turning those draws into wins."

Bridge insists he is not thinking about next summer's World Cup finals with England in South Africa as he focuses on doing his best for City.

"I watched the World Cup draw with interest. But things need to get better at City first," noted Bridge.

"So I'll be concentrating on club at the moment."