Joe Hart wants Manchester City to make history in the Champions League against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday night and the England goalkeeper remains bullish over his club s ailing Premier League ambitions.
Saturday s drab 0-0 draw at Norwich City left Manuel Pellegrini s team nine points behind Premier League leaders Leicester City in fourth.
They will aim to bounce back by reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time and are handily placed to do so, taking a 3-1 advantage from the first-leg into the Etihad Stadium clash.
Hart, who has played throughout all four of City s previous Champions League campaigns as the club s longest-serving player, told a pre-match news conference: It s important for us [to reach the quarter-finals].
It s a target we ve had for a number of years now and we ve got ourselves in a good position.
[Kiev] are back firing now after their pre-season but we re ready and we want to make more history.
They ve had games now, they re in their flow – 3-1 is a good start but it s only a start. We ve got 90 minutes now to try to make history.
They ve got two good wingers. Anyone who has qualified for the last 16 is a dangerous side. They re a proper Champions League side. We ll have to be at our best.
It s a difficult tournament but we ve got to believe we can win it or there s no point in turning up.
City face rivals Manchester United in a derby contest on Sunday in the Premier League and Pellegrini expects injured trio Kevin De Bruyne (knee), Samir Nasri (thigh/tendon) and Fabian Delph (Achilles) to be back to fitness during the international break that follows.
Nevertheless, their hopes of adding the league title to a League Cup triumph – as was the case in 2013-14 – appear remote following the setback at Carrow Road.
I m never going to concede anything while it s still up for grabs and the Premier League definitely is, Hart added.
We ve had some tough results and we haven t performed to the levels we would want to, but there is still plenty to play for this season.
