PATRICK Vieira checked in for Premier League duty once more and immediately set his sights on taking Manchester City to the number one slot.
Vieira is set to earn an estimated £10m if he spends the next 18 months with City, after quitting Inter Milan to rejoin old boss Roberto Mancini.
He also admitted that having a chance to force his way into Raymond Domenech’s French World Cup squad next summer was a major factor.
But a man who won the title three times with Arsenal and finished top of Serie A four seasons on the trot after leaving England in 2005 is unlikely to be content settling for second best.
So, while Mancini was able to discuss City’s stated aim of securing a top four berth this term, Vieira was looking higher, much higher.
‘‘Manchester City can achieve so much,’’ he said.
‘‘When you look at the players we have already and where we are in the table, winning the league is not out of reach. I believe we can do it.”
While Vieira’s arrival has been greeted with a degree of scepticism, largely because the midfielder’s best days were thought to be behind him when Arsene Wenger turned the penalty he scored in Cardiff to beat Manchester United in the 2005 FA Cup final into his last touch for the club.
Yet, just down the road, Ryan Giggs is proof that age is not automatically a barrier to success.
While Vieira accepts he can no longer tear around the field trampling over opponents in the manner of old, equally he is hardly a geriatric.
‘‘I never had any doubt that I could do a big job here,’’ he said.
‘‘I believe in myself. I know that I am not 20. But I am not 45 either. I am very motivated to do well and believe I can be successful.’’ Indeed, while Mancini will shy away from handing Vieira the captain’s armband he wore with such distinction at Arsenal, he is not ready to make his first signing as City boss a peripheral figure.
A debut against Blackburn on Monday may be in doubt due to a calf injury, but it seems Vieira is going to play regularly.
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