The only way City can succeed this season is to win one of the prizes: De Jong

London, Mar 15(ANI): Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong has said the club must win at least one trophy this season to ensure a successful season, and added that it is either the Europa League or the Premier League.

City must topple a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Sporting Lisbon on Thursday in order to progress to the quarterfinals of the Europa League.

They gave away their top spot in the Premier League to Manchester United at the weekend after an unexpected defeat to Swansea City.

Dutch star De Jong conceded that winning the Premier League is still their top most priority, but even if they win any one of the two trophies, the season would be adjudged as a success.

"The only way we can succeed this season is to win one of the prizes. For us, our main target is to win a prize. Our main goal is to win the Premier League," The Telegraph quoted De Jong, as saying.

"But we always said at the beginning of the season that we want to compete in as many competitions as we can and we are still in the Europa League and challenging for the title," he said.

City manager Roberto Mancini is desperate to get more success at the club following last season's FA Cup success, after spending in excess of 70 million pound on new players last summer.

De Jong believes after spending so much money on the squad, no one would have any reason to justify failure to win even one major trophy.

"We brought new players in for a reason, to make the squad bigger and stronger, so we can't have any excuses," De Jong said.

"You've got to be mentally strong. It is a long season and it takes a lot from the players and the squad as well, but we are still in two competitions," he added. (ANI)