Pritchard's comments are spot on, IMO. City had 12 games at the start of the season where they reached the top of the table without really playing their best football. Yes there were the blips at Birmingham and Newcastle, but there was the expectation that we could improve on that. Then came 10 games where we lost 8 and won 2. Yes, 4 red cards played a part in that for sure. The performances weren't dire, including 6 goals for and 0 against in the two wins, but apart from Brighton, we fell by one goal all but once at Reading, after Brady's red card. Brady's "I know the time we had was really bad, but we put ourselves in that situation – and we’ve got to get ourselves out of that situation." There is a sense now that the players have taken that on and are responding accordingly. A win against Newcastle would be immense and would project the statement that Pritch is making. but it will be our biggest test since the heart-breaking loss up there. A test of character for the whole team.