ROBERTO MANCINI insisted Manchester City’s squad had survived a damaging week with morale intact as the club attempted to defuse the Carlos Tevez controversy by banning questions about the Argentinian at the manager’s weekly press conference.

Mancini met the media yesterday for the first time since declaring Tevez was “finished” at City for his apparent refusal to play in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.

In contrast to his unrestrained anger at the Allianz Arena, the Italian was calm and occasionally jovial at the club’s Carrington training ground, saying he would sign a contract extension at City if given the opportunity and had overcome more testing periods in football. “I don’t have any complications,” he said. “The only complication I had two days ago was that we lost against Bayern Munich. Only this. The other thing no, absolutely no.”

Mancini spoke after City’s chief communications officer read a statement announcing that any direct or indirect questions about Tevez would suspend the press conference. Mancini was content, however, to deny claims of low morale in the dressing room. “I thought we were at the top of the table, not on the bottom,” he said. “If we were on the bottom, no (morale would not be good) but I think we have the same points (as) United.”

The City manager said he has a squad able to realise Sheikh Mansour’s ambitions for the club and not, as events in Munich had indicated, a highly paid bunch liable to put self-interest before the team. Mancini said: “When you build a new team, started two and a half years ago, it is important to have good players and also good men. With good men you can build a strong team. This is very important. When you have good men, you can lose some games and it is not important because in the end you can still take (achieve) your target. 100 per cent, I have good men. I am sure of this.”

City have imposed a maximum two-week fine of €582,000 and suspension on Tevez and claim their press restrictions were necessary due to the internal inquiry being conducted into what happened in Germany and its legal ramifications. Tevez will not apologise to Mancini over what he has subsequently described as a misunderstanding and, while the club may have problems obtaining witness statements from the striker’s team-mates, members of the club’s coaching and fitness staff will be among those interviewed as part of a potential gross misconduct charge.

Mancini received support from Tevez’s former manager, Alex Ferguson, although the United manager also declined to discuss the striker. “You can ask me (about Tevez) but I won’t answer,” Ferguson said. “I do think Roberto Mancini has come out showing his strength of character, his strength of management. That’s important in today’s management. We have all experienced our own difficulties in management. My own experience is strong management is important. There is nobody more important than a manager at a football club.”

In contrast, Mancini claimed that owners are more important than managers or players who “can change club”, but revealed he wanted to extend his reign at City beyond 2013. “When I finish my contract if the club is happy we can talk about this. I would like to stay here until we have built the new training facility. I would like to see it. I would like to stay.”

Mancini gathered his players for a team meeting on Thursday at which Edin Dzeko apologised for his petulant reaction to being substituted against Bayern. His manager, who admitted that “with blood inside, not water” it is impossible for him to keep his emotions in check, claimed that problem was “finished” and that the Bosnian striker could start today.