Top three finish within our grasp

The City kit boss and former Latics stars writes every week for Chron Sport
AS the dust settles on Manchester City’s FA Cup final triumph over Stoke, we welcome Tony Pulis’ side to Eastlands tonight in the Barclays Premier League.

Arsenal’s 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa at the weekend means a third-place finish in the table is in our own hands.

Put simply, if we beat Stoke tonight and win at Bolton next weekend, third position will be ours.

It would clinch automatic qualification for the Champions League group stages, skipping the hazardous two-legged qualifier a fourth-place finish brings.

This is a big opportunity for us now. It was always a case of hoping Arsenal slip up and, now they have, it is down to us to capitalise and overtake them.

It will not be an easy game, particularly as the opposition happen to be the side we beat in the FA Cup final just three days ago. The Potters will be pumped up.

Hopefully we can approach the game with the same appetite and desire we demonstrated at Wembley.

Confidence in the camp is sky-high after a truly memorable week, which began with a victory over Tottenham which cemented our top-four status, and then of course the final, where we ended our 35-year wait for silverware.

At the other end of the table, West Ham United became the first club this season to lose their top-flight status following a 3-2 defeat at Wigan Athletic, and Avram Grant was sacked shortly afterwards.

It leaves Wigan, Blackpool, Blackburn, Birmingham and Wolves all battling for survival on what will be an intriguing final day of the campaign.

I have said for a long time that Blackpool are in freefall and I still feel they will go down, which would be a great shame considering the brilliant job manager Ian Holloway has done.

Wolves have put together a couple of wins so, if the Tangerines do join the Hammers, I think the third team to suffer the dreaded drop will be be either Wigan, Blackburn or Birmingham.

I have a feeling it will be Roberto Martinez’s Latics outfit.

They have been in the relegation zone for most of the season, and I think they will fall short.

It promises to be a fascinating climax to what has been a rollercoaster nine months.