VINCENT Kompany is happy to keep on toeing the line to help City achieve their twin aims of a top-seven finish and UEFA Cup glory.

The Belgium international has continued to serve the Blues in both defence and midfield despite the fact he has been suffering with a toe injury for around a month.

Manager Mark Hughes has had nothing but praise for the man he signed from Hamburg for £6m in August.

The Blues boss has been blown away by the professionalism of the 22-year-old, who stood in as captain while Richard Dunne served a recent four-match ban.

"He's been immense in the last few weeks," Hughes said. "He's really struggling with the toe injury, but he's prepared to put his body on the line for the team.

"He gave a huge performance when we beat Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

"When you've got players like that, it drags everybody up. He and Richard Dunne were outstanding against Villa.

"And it gives us the defensive platform for our attacking players to have a positive impact."

It was the need to construct that defensive platform which prompted Hughes to prise Kompany away from the Bundesliga at the tail end of the summer transfer window.

Hughes has described him as an "intense person", someone who is, in the manager's words, "a great student of the game".

That shouldn't come as a great surprise, really, given Kompany's Bundesliga upbringing.

He spent two years at Hamburg after beginning his career in his native Belgium with Anderlecht, and it is obvious that his experiences of playing in Germany have shaped his outlook.

Sense

"When I came to England, I was comparing it with something good in the Bundesliga," Kompany said.

"The teams in the Bundesliga have a very high sense of professionalism and organisation.

"It wasn't quite matching up to that level over here, but I can see that happening now, and we are becoming a big team.

"And if everything starts to be done as the top players request, then the results will follow."

Kompany, then, is a player who sets high standards for himself and for others, someone who has a drive to reach the top - and has little time for passengers.

Sound familiar? It is a description that has also been applied to Craig Bellamy in recent weeks since his arrival at City from West Ham.

If the signings of Kompany and Bellamy prove anything, it is that Hughes is determined to build a team of winners.

Anyone who doesn't have the stomach for the challenge of taking City to the top will soon be shown the door.

Kompany also fits another of the criteria for an archetypal Hughes signing - a willingness to play in more than one position for the team cause.

Kompany said: "My role in the team is always to recover a lot of balls, and that's what I do best.

"That's true whichever position I play in. But I like tactical challenges, and I feel I'm always playing in a role that suits me. I'm pleased with the tactical challenges I'm facing.

"Yes, the team is definitely looking more solid now. But I still think it is going to improve a lot. This is the beginning. We are showing some good signs, but even though the expectations are high, we still have the scope to improve a lot."

City's season has been a mixed bag to say the least but could yet finish in spectacular fashion, with a two-legged UEFA Cup last-16 tie against Danish side Aalborg to look forward to and a top-seven Premier League spot well within reach.

Experience

"The team is gaining in European experience," said Kompany. "The further we go in the competition, the more people will be able to say that they have been there and played in European games.

"That's very good for us. We've got a good chance now to push for a place in the last eight. That's a big thing.

"We're a team with good experience now."

Not that Kompany is satisfied. As far as he is concerned, there is always room for improvement.

CITY reserve midfielder Paul Marshall has joined Port Vale on a month's loan.