Toure ready to pitch in

YAYA Toure will put concerns about the pitch aside in his determination to drive Manchester City towards the Champions League knockout stages in Russia.

City can put themselves in a strong position to claim a last-16 place for the first time with victory over CSKA Moscow in their latest Group ‘D’ game.

But the build-up to the clash at the Arena Khimki has been dominated by worries over the pitch — grass is thin and the surface sandy and uneven — with the venue only passed fit by UEFA a fortnight ago.

But Ivory Coast international Toure said: “I don’t have any problem with that; in Africa we have worse pitches. Most of all we have to do our best to try to win this game.”

With Bayern Munich having taken control of the group, City are probably now in a battle with CSKA for second place. Their hopes of going through therefore rest on their back-to-back games with the Russians, who visit the Etihad Stadium in a fortnight.