The France international accepts the Blues have not been at their best in one or two of the pre-season matches but believes it’s better to find any issues in friendlies rather than in Premier League games.
“I need to find my match sharpness which is normal for all of us at the stage of the season,” said Mangala.
“We are in the final week of our preparations and with a game coming up on Monday we know we need to work hard on the training pitch and get our tactics spot-on as well as every other aspect of our game.
“We want to start the season well and we know West Brom on the first day is not an easy place to go.
It’s a big season for me and it’s a big season for all of us because we didn’t win any trophies in 2014/15 and this year we want to put that right
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“For a club like Manchester City, it’s not good enough to end up empty-handed – we want to win the title and other trophies and go as far as we can in the Champions League and that’s the mentality we have at the Club.”
Mangala finished the final weeks of last season as part of a solid partnership alongside Martin Demichelis.
He is hoping to start this term in the same kind of form and he is determined, with a year of Premier League football under his belt, to show his best form and ensure he is a regular fixture in the first-team.
“I am focused on the season ahead and I want to play my part to the full,” he said. “I know I need to improve and show my best game every time I play and that’s what I intend to do.”
Mangala says the Blues can learn much from the defeats to Real Madrid and Stuttgart.
City shipped a total of eight goals against the Spaniards and the Germans and while concerns have been aired about the defending in those games, Mangala says they do not portray a true picture of how the team will play this season.
“All the games we’ve played have value and are important because they are building up towards our opening games at West Brom,” said the 24-year-old.
“I think what happened against Madrid and Stuttgart rang one or two alarm bells and maybe showed we have to change something and be aware because we can’t play the way we did in those two games against West Brom or we’ll get punished.
“That’s why they were valuable games for us - but the fact is that it is better to find out in pre-season friendlies than in the Premier League because the results are not as important. It also gives us an idea of the areas we need to work on and improve.
“Everything is focused on our first game against West Brom and by Monday, we’ll be ready and focused.”
Watch out for Mangala’s view on City’s new signings exclusively on mcfc.co.uk
