"Mr. Whitney, we meet again."
Richard greeted the Independent Chief Editor with a polite smile, though the exhaustion still lingered behind his eyes.
That dramatic comeback victory over Leicester City had been a sigh of relief — at least now, Manchester City had secured a comfortable top-ten position by the season's halfway point.
But comfortable wasn't good enough.
Richard's gaze drifted to the Premier League table projected on the meeting room screen:
1 Manchester United — 44 points
2 Arsenal — 42 points
3 Chelsea — 41 points
4 Leeds United — 39 points
5 West Ham United — 39 points
6 Aston Villa — 39 points
7 Liverpool — 36 points
8 Derby County — 34 points
9 Manchester City — 31 points
Ninth place. Respectable for newcomers on the European stage… yet nowhere near Richard's ambitions.
"Just look at them," Whitney said, noticing Richard's stare. "No reason to stress."
