• ‘Our weakness is our strength,’ says City centre-half
• Manuel Pellegrini will not change successful strategy

Vincent Kompany has admitted that Manchester City’s all-out attacking style is their biggest weakness.

City have scored 110 goals in all competitions yet despite keeping four clean sheets in their last six matches, the rearguard has attracted scrutiny.

“Our weakness is our strength, like any other squad that are so dominant and so attacking,” Kompany told ESPNFC. “We play with two strikers and two wingers who are virtually strikers and one of our midfield players – which we only have two of – is also virtually a striker [Yaya Touré]. Our full-backs are pushing up all the time, ultimately out of a team of 11 players we have six or seven who are always involved in the attack and it just means that there is a lot of ground to cover when you lose the ball. It’s a risk but it’s a style of playing that suits us at the moment.

“Complacency is our biggest enemy, it’s very simple. We have six or seven players thinking offensive, and that just means we have to be super-aggressive to recover the ball quickly.

“When we don’t have the ball, ultimately we’re not as good anymore, so I think a good strength is to know how you function. This is how we function, so there’s no excuses for us not to look to get the ball back very quickly.”

Manuel Pellegrini disagrees and can point to the 25 goals conceded in the Premier League as being the joint-third lowest, and only one conceded against the 19 scored in the Capital One Cup.

When Kompany’s assessment was put to him, the City manager said: “We must be a very balanced team, we are always working. Maybe you don’t believe me but we work more in defending than attacking because, of course, it is difficult to when you have to defend with less defenders [because of the commitment to going forward]. I think it is very important to know how to do it and that’s the way we work here. For the moment, we will continue in the same way. Maybe it’s my opinion and I am wrong, but I think this team defends very well.”

City’s campaign has taken them to a point behind the leaders, Arsenal, a Champions League last-16 tie with Barcelona, and an FA Cup date with Chelsea, plus the Capital One Cup final against Sunderland.

This follows last season’s dismal title defence, which Pellegrini admits hurt the squad and is driving the players on to seek revenge. “I repeat, once again I don’t want to compare with what happened the other season [but] maybe they were hurt for what happened last season,” he said. “They needed to demonstrate again what kind of players they are. It is very important in that sense to win things and the only way to win is with a high performance from all of them but with style to do it. Maybe of course I think they want revenge.”

Pellegrini has Álvaro Negredo fit again for Wednesday evening’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur, following a shoulder problem.

• Manchester City
• Manuel Pellegrini

Jamie Jackson

theguardian.com