Eric Garcia says he is not taking his spell in the Manchester City starting XI for granted, and wants to repay Pep Guardiola's faith in him whenever he is given the chance.
Garcia started the first game back after the re-start against Arsenal, but the head injury suffered in that game ruled him out of the next three games. The young Spaniard returned to the centre of defence for the 4-0 win over Liverpool, and retained his place for the trip to Southampton on Sunday.
In the same time, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi have struggled for minutes, and Garcia could have moved higher up the pecking order among City's centre-backs.
And Garcia says that is not lost on him, as he spoke ahead of the Southampton game.
He said: "I'm really happy for the opportunity but I need to keep working hard to repay the confidence he's given me that I can prove it on the field."
With City having lost the Premier League title to Liverpool, they are still hoping to add the FA Cup and Champions League to their collection this season - something Garcia says is keeping the City squad motivated for the final run of league games.
He said: "We still have some games to play and then the semi-final against Arsenal. these games are really good for us to prepare for what's coming. We have the Champions League too, so it's always good to have games to prepare for the big games coming up.
"The mood is really well. Obviously the win against Liverpool helped. But apart from that we won against Newcastle to get through in the FA Cup. We have big things coming up so the mood is well."
