Keegan rallies his troops

Groclin (1) v Man City (1) Grodzisk, Poland, 3.15 On TV: Channel 5: Kevin Keegan is calling on his Manchester City team to finish an important job against Groclin.

City face the ambitious Polish side in front of 5,000 supporters this afternoon, with their UEFA Cup match evenly balanced.

And Keegan knows his side will have to dig deep if they are to improve on the 1-1 first-leg result and progress to the third round.

But after training last night on this neat little ground tucked away in the west of the country, he is confident his team can rise to the challenge.

Keegan admits he already has one eye on next February when the fall-out from the Champions League continues.

"I hope my players should take very little motivating, because this is a good competition, " he said. "We are now looking at the Champions League and the teams that could come out of that.

"There will be some very good sides in there, as last night's results show. Arsenal could be in there - so too could Inter Milan and Celtic.

"First of all, though, we've got to get past Groclin. It's a game that is set up for a real test of character for us. Getting a 1-1 at home was not an ideal result. We've got a lot of unfinished work to do."

Keegan anticipates that City will be ready to give it their best. "I expect my players to respond and I am sure the Groclin players will enjoy the challenge as well.

"It is very important we get back to winning ways. If we play to our maximum we are capable of winning - no doubt about that."

About 500 supporters from a village that boasts a population of just 12,000 watched City's players go through their paces.

The floodlights dominate the barren landscape, but Keegan has no complaints. In fact, he praised Groclin for their ambition.

"It is a very good surface and very nice stadium - small, but nicely put together. The dressing-rooms are excellent. Overall, the facilities are good."

City midfielder Claudio Reyna went through a full session after recovering from the flu that forced him to miss the defeat at Newcastle. And David Seaman is fit to start in goals, despite taking a heavy knock at the weekend in a clash with Alan Shearer.

City were so concerned over Seaman that Kasper Schmeichel, the son of Peter, was registered with UEFA.