Stones: City have fire in our bellies for 2025/26 | OneFootball

John Stones says City have returned to action with fresh motivation to compete for silverware after a frustrating 2024/25 campaign.

The Blues were still able to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, reach the FA Cup final and win the Community Shield, but a third-place finish, the defender admits, fell below our usual high standards.

But with new faces brought in to bolster an already impressive playing squad and coaching staff, an exciting new chapter of Pep Guardiola’s tenure beckons.

And Stones thinks that setback from last year has had a positive effect on the squad, who are hungry to compete for top honours in England and Europe heading into the new campaign.

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“It was humbling for us, after all the success we’ve had,” he said.

“It makes us realise what we’ve done, what we’ve achieved over the years and how proud we should be, but we’re obviously frustrated at what we did last season. It’s not what we want to replicate.

“To finish third, three or four points behind Arsenal is – to our standards – not good, (nor) how we played through the season.

“We’ve got to put that right and get back to our identity, get back to winning matches and having that presence about us and believing in ourselves as a team.

“I’m sure we’ll find that and bring it back because it was tough last season to go through what we did. We’ve definitely come back with that fire in our bellies to go and achieve.”

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Stones was speaking after the Club’s Open Training session involving both our Men’s and Women’s first teams, City are Back.

The defender was full of praise for the event, and described the positive impact it’s had on players and fans alike.

He added: “It’s been great. We haven’t done one of these for a few years so it’s really nice to get up close and interact with the fans.

“It’s not something we can do so often, and the turnout’s been incredible.

“The support from everyone who’s come out and see a different aspect of us as well.

“People don’t often see a full training session of what we do, so it’s nice to do it in front of them.”