PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE RACE:ROBERTO MANCINI has said Manchester City are now the top club in Manchester and need to win the title this season to be the best in the country.
“We are the best team in Manchester probably. To be the best in the country we have to win the next two games,” Mancini said. “It’s not important to beat United twice or beat Chelsea [as City have this season], it’s only important to win a championship in the end.”
Mancini is clear the mental hurdle over United was leapt in the 3-2 FA Cup defeat by Alex Ferguson’s men in January. City played with 10 men for the majority of the game but fought back from 3-0 down. “The FA Cup was really important when we lost 3-2 at home in January,” he said. “Not when we won 6-1 [in October’s derby], that game was easy.”
Mancini believes the mental battle will be key at Newcastle United tomorrow. “Sunday will be really difficult because of the crowd and Newcastle are a good team,” he said of opponents who won 2-0 at Chelsea on Wednesday. “Our approach to the game, preparation this week and mentality will be very important. I think Sunday will probably be a key game.”
In Monday’s 1-0 derby win over United, City prevented the champions from having a single shot at their goal on target. Can they do it again against Alan Pardew’s side? “We hope but I don’t know if Newcastle will agree with us. I don’t think so. It will be more difficult on Sunday. But we want to try to finish [the season] like this with our defence, if possible.”
City have let in only one goal in their four previous outings against Newcastle but the home strike force now features Papiss Cisse, who has scored 13 goals in 12 league appearances. Mancini said: “If we concede only one goal, it’s not only because Joleon [Lescott] and Vinny [Vincent Kompany] played well or they are in good form. All the team worked well in the defensive phase. If not, it’s difficult. If you only work with your defenders, it’s impossible not to concede a goal. All the team defend well when we need to.”
The manager claimed that his side has already discarded the “typical City” tag that refers to their tendency to disappoint. “I don’t think it’s typical City now. In the last two or three years Manchester City have improved a lot but, I repeat, it changes nothing,” he said. “We’ve showed we are clearly a good team but, as I’ve always said, it’s important to be at the top when the championship is finished because only this position is important to us. Now Manchester City have changed a lot.”
Mancini said earlier in the season that he was concerned his side might falter just as the title could be won but now there are no doubts. “I don’t think so. This happened six or eight weeks ago, probably because we had some important players injured. But I don’t think that now. We can lose because in football you can lose any game. But I’m sure we’ll play a good game,” the manager said.
He played down the chance that his players have to claim a first title since 1968 and change the club’s history. “We are here because we want to do this,” the Italian said.
And there was sarcasm from Mancini when he was told of Ferguson’s claim that, if City beat Newcastle, the title is theirs despite still having to play Queens Park Rangers on the season’s final day. “I agree. Probably. He has more experience than me. If he said it like that, I agree with him,” he said.
After the touchline spat during City’s 1-0 derby win on Monday the Italian was asked if he had a glass of wine with his opposite number afterwards. “Yes. Everything was forgotten for me and I think it was the same for him,” he said.
