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Manchester City must make up for last season's failure says Yaya Touré• 'This year we want to do the job' says Ivorian midfielder
• £100m investment in four signings 'is very good to see'
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guardian.co.uk, Thursday 25 July 2013 23.00 BST
Manchester City's Yaya Touré disputes possession with a young boy during a Premier League Community Festival in Hong Kong. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images for Premier League
Yaya Touré has warned that Manchester City's £100m investment in new signings this summer is a huge statement of intent, with Manuel Pellegrini's side determined to reclaim the title and make a serious Champions League challenge. The Ivorian also agrees with Ferran Soriano, the City chief executive, that the club should win five trophies in five seasons.
Jesús Navas, Fernandinho, Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo have been recruited at an initial cost of £88m which when salaries and bonuses are considered pushes the total beyond £100m.
Asked how big a message this is from the club, Touré said: "It's very good to see, they're unbelievable players. They play with their national teams – Negredo, Navas [both Spain] and Fernandinho [Brazil]. And Jovetic is a great young talent [who plays for Montenegro] – he's got a fantastic future ahead of him. I'm glad all these players have come to the club because we need it and hope this season is going to be fine for us.
"The club want to improve in every aspect and I hope this season is going to be good for us because we know we have a great challenge against Chelsea, Arsenal, United, Tottenham and Liverpool.
"This year is going to be tough but I hope with the squad we have and some good luck we get some trophies this year."
Soriano, who was general manager at Barcelona, stated that City should be winning five trophies in five years and Touré said this approach was recognisable from his time at the Camp Nou, when he won two La Liga titles and the 2009 Champions League. "Yes, it's very important. I've known that [attitude] for a long time, having played with Barcelona in Spain. We had to win. You have high standards. For me the most important thing is to achieve something because a winning mentality is all about that. Try to achieve something every year and make the job bigger."
Last season, City made a disappointing defence of the title, finishing 11 points behind Manchester United, while they failed to emerge from their Champions League group and lost the FA Cup final to Wigan Athletic.
Touré believes these failures are driving the players on for the new campaign. "The players are very focused now and we've seen that on the training ground," he said. "We've been very busy these last few weeks, we've having two or three training sessions a day sometimes, we're concentrating very hard. We want to win. We want to play well this year. But to do that we know we have to work hard. With the likes of [José] Mourinho going to Chelsea, we know it's going to be very hard this year.
"Last season we were a step away from winning the FA Cup but Wigan were better than us. In the Premier League and Champions League we were disappointing. This year we want to do the job. We want to work hard, keep it going, make it as hard as possible for our opponents and try to be better and stronger and I hope we show that."
Touré admits missing out was tough to take last year. "When you see what we did in pre-season and worked hard and we didn't win one thing, it's difficult," the midfielder said. "But when you lose you must not have done something right. It's important we win. In the final [against Wigan] we suffered. The feeling when you win something it is amazing for you, your team-mates, the fans and your family."
Touré is clear that having agreed a new contract that keeps him at the club until 2018, the upcoming season is important for him personally. "Of course – that's why I signed for City," he said. "To try to improve each year and help the club win a lot. I came here to win trophies and make stories [history]. It's very important for me and the club too because I know how much everyone desires it. The fans only want to see one Manchester club profit. I hope it's going to be fine and we win some trophies."
Yaya Touré appeared at the Premier League Community Festival at the Barclays Asia Trophy where it is running a development project for coaches and referees and a Creating Chances event for local children