Manchester City defender and captain Vincent Kompany has publicly vowed to get better ahead of the 2015/16 campaign, after suffering from an inconsistent campaign defensively where his form declined dramatically. 

The 29-year-old was part of an inconsistent backline which failed to properly challenge for the Premier League title, as Manuel Pellegrini's men saw new champions Chelsea dominate for large sections of the season itself. The club's captain, who has set high expectations of himself since a move from Bundesliga outfit Hamburg seven years ago, struggled to maintain consistency due to a combination of injuries and poor form, just when the Citzens needed him to step up and show his importance the most in key matches. 

Inconsistency and injuries hurt Kompany's form

Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala together formed a decent centre-back pairing towards the end of the campaign, and although Kompany eventually was deemed fit to feature, he was not risked much by the boss, in a smart decision considering all of the harsh criticism he suffered. A rather reckless sliding challenge during City's 4-2 defeat at the hands of Manchester rivals United at Old Trafford was the epitomy of Kompany's seeming decline over the past few months, where the talented Belgian looked a shadow of his former self - where strikers feared his presence and were reluctant to try and go one-on-one with him in goal-scoring duels. 

However, Vincent has maintained the belief that he will be working hard to regain the level of performance he, and City supporters, are used to seeing on a weekly basis next term. He stated: "At the level at which I play, I don't expect flowers when things aren't going well. The day I win a prize and I have a good season, people will say I'm the best defender in the world."

Eager to prove his doubters wrong and get stronger next term

In the big fixtures, such as Barcelona's comfortable UEFA Champions League victory over City at The Ethiad earlier on in the season, social media outlets went viral with negative criticism over the Belgian as Kompany looked clumsy and lethargic, when coming up against the world's best forwards, including Lionel Messi and Neymar.

He continued: "When a forward dribbles past me, they'll say I'm the worst defender in the world. The truth is that I can play football - don't worry - and I'm coming back even stronger than before. I have to show it on the pitch; I don't have a choice." 

Quotes' source: Manchester Evening News