Mancini: we will not be sitting back

ROBERTO MANCINI insists attack will be the best form of defence when Manchester City look to shrug their neighbours aside on the path to Carling Cup glory tonight.

At Eastlands last week, Mancini seemed to adopt a typically Italian mentality to such matters, taking off forwards and introducing more defensive-minded players as the clock ran down. Yet he insists the attitude tonight must be positive – and that means going forward.

“We don’t want to go to Old Trafford only to defend,” he said. “We will have to defend if United attack. Then we will need to defend very well because they have so many good players. But we want to win, not just the tie, but at Old Trafford. To do that, we must attack.”