City boss Mancini feared he was ‘forgotten man’

MANCHESTER CITY boss Roberto Mancini has admitted he was so concerned by his 15-month spell out of work, he feared his achievements at Inter Milan, where he won three straight Serie A titles, had been “forgotten’’.

The Italian boss also revealed that any clubs hoping to take advantage of City’s cash-rich owners will be disappointed in the last week of the January transfer window, as he only has “a small budget’’ to work with.

Speaking on Italian TV channel Sky Sport Italia, Mancini said: “Anyone who expects that Manchester City are going to spend a lot during January is wrong. I have a small budget but more importantly, I want to prove that you can build a successful team even in this way,’’ said Mancini.

“I spend most of my time with my team and studying the next opponents through videos. I can’t travel around to watch players or watch DVDs. So having reliable people you can trust is very important. We work like a team: I can propose (certain players) and they can suggest some names to me. And at the end of the day we will decide together, always thinking of what’s best for Manchester City.’’

Mancini revealed he only needed a few seconds to be convinced by the City project when approached last October, although he was alarmed that he was not already in a job by then.

“Last season, after being sacked by Inter, I decided to take a year off,’’ he explained. “I needed time to rest and recharge my batteries. I wanted to study, to watch football matches in different leagues and learn what you can’t usually study when you are in work.

“I travelled throughout Europe: Germany, Spain and England. I don’t know if I was really happy, because I missed training a team so much, but after almost 30 years of daily football I thought a break would be good for me and my family. And I was sure that I would have had a new job before the start of this season.

“During the summer I rejected a couple of offers because I wasn’t sure about them. I wasn’t ready to sign for just any club. I wanted a top club who could compete to win things. But in September I was still without a club and started to get worried. I was disappointed because it seemed everything I had done so far was forgotten.

“In October something changed. I got a few offers, which I was ready to accept, until Manchester City approached me. Then I needed only a few seconds to sign for them.’’