Pearce stands defiant despite Cup exit

MANCHESTER CITY manager Stuart Pearce remained defiant after his side exited the FA Cup yesterday.

Goals from Aaron Mokoena — who was later sent off — and Matt Derbyshire gave Blackburn a 2-0 victory and a place in the semi-finals.

It means City have lost four of their last five games in all competitions and the supporters voiced their disapproval at Ewood Park.

Asked if he felt his position was under threat, Pearce responded: “It is irrelevant to me, whether it is or isn’t. As a manager you are only one game away from being under pressure.

“Things change very quickly. We must try and win the next game. There is not a great deal wrong at this club. But at the moment the results are not good enough and it is up to me to turn it around.”

City face Chelsea on Wednesday and Middlesbrough on Saturday and could be sucked into a relegation battle.

The supporters are getting increasingly angered at the club’s plight and chanted at the players “you are not fit to wear the shirt”.

Two of them even took it upon themselves to run onto the pitch.

Pearce sympathises with the supporters. He said: “We are a little bit frustrated from top to bottom and that goes for the fans as well.

“You do get stick if you do not win enough games. It is important I shield the players. One thing for sure I have got to go in and pick up 36 players tomorrow to get ready for Chelsea.”

Pearce felt no-one could question their work-rate.

He said: “We are suffering for a lack of confidence. But you must not feel sorry for yourself.

“The dressing room is very quiet and it is important we pick ourselves up. We have got to come together as a collective. When Blackburn went down to 10 men, we couldn’t sustain enough pressure on them. They banked up behind the ball and that is credit to them.”

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes was delighted at the way his side applied themselves. He said: “We deserve to be in the hat. We controlled the game, especially in the first half.

“We had to be strong as they threw a lot of balls into our box. But we were also brave enough to push people forward and that is the reason we got the second goal.”

Hughes thought Mokoena was unlucky to get sent off for two yellow cards.

“It just seemed to be a tangle of bodies and maybe he could have been given the benefit of the doubt,” said the Blackburn boss.

“It is a shame for Aaron as he has been in excellent form and one of our main performers in recent weeks.”

BLACKBURN: Friedel, Emerton, Samba, Nelsen (Khizanishvili 46), Warnock, Bentley, Mokoena, Kerimoglu (Peter 80), Pedersen, McCarthy (Roberts 85), Derbyshire.

MAN CITY: Weaver, Richards, Dunne, Distin, Jihai (Beasley 57), Barton, Hamann (Samaras 76), Ireland, Ball, Corradi (Mpenza 81), Vassell.

Referee: M Dean (Wirral).