Man City midfielder Toure impacted by lower quality Ivorians - Renard

Ivory Coast coach Herve Renard believes Yaya Toure has struggled to reach his best for his country due to the lesser quality of players around him.

Renard thinks Toure is aided by the standard of his Manchester City team-mates at club level, but the inferior nature of his international colleagues, means he has has to change his style at the Africa Cup of Nations.

"Ivory Coast is not Manchester City. The potential of players is not the same," said Ranard.

"At City, there are players who can defend very well and create at the same time. With us it is different, so we asked him to do a different job."

Renard has used Toure in a deeper position than he operates in for Manchester City.

"It's easy to work with players of his calibre because you can ask a lot of things of them if you explain to them what you need and why. It's easier with players of this calibre than with players who have not experienced much and think they already know everything," added Renard.