Mancini banking on top four place

ROBERTO MANCINI is convinced he will have a Champions League place and a trophy at the end of the season to prove he has changed Manchester City’s fortunes for the better.

City head to Fulham tomorrow for a first encounter with Mark Hughes since the Welshman was dismissed in acrimonious circumstances by the Sky Blues’ cash-rich Abu Dhabi-based owners in December last year.

For Mancini it promises to be an ordeal, not least because the statistics surrounding his own tenure are open to criticism.

The Italian has gleaned exactly the same number of points from the first 13 games of this campaign that Hughes managed in the last, and City have also lost three times, compared to once at this point 12 months ago.

In fairness to Mancini, City have established themselves in the top four, something they failed to do under Hughes.

An end to a 35-year trophy drought would make people sit up and Mancini is confident his side is on target.

“At the end of the season I think we will get into the Champions League and probably we will win something. This is my opinion because I believe we have improved a lot,” said Mancini, yesterday.

Some may argue otherwise. Certainly Hughes felt his side would have achieved their objectives if he had been given a chance last term. But Mancini is eager the contest should not become a personal battle.

“I don’t know if Mark Hughes has a point to prove but Sunday is Fulham against Manchester City, not Mancini against Hughes,” he said.

“Maybe it means more, I don’t know. But I am sure they always try to win, whether they play against Manchester City or Newcastle, who they played last Saturday.”

While Hughes insists he has moved on since leaving Eastlands, he admits he is relishing the prospect of making life difficult for his old club tomorrow.

“Whenever a player goes up against a team he was employed by, or a manager in my circumstances, there is always an extra incentive to try to win the game. I’m no different from any individual in similar circumstances.

“My aim first and foremost is to win for Fulham. It is always nice to go up against former clubs and show that there is life after you have left them.”

The manner in which Hughes left Eastlands, waving farewell to the fans after a 4-3 victory against Sunderland with new boss Mancini in the ground, was seen by many as disrespectful by City’s owners.

Hughes, however, holds no bitterness.

“Once the door on my career as a manager at Manchester City was closed then I moved on. I don’t hold grudges. I’m not bitter about the situation. Why drag yourself down with things that have happened in the past? You have to move on and look for other challenges.”

But while Hughes hopes to dent City’s title hopes he believes the world’s richest club will achieve trophy-winning success.

“It is only a matter of time,’’ he said. “They have got good players there already and have that flexibility to go into the market and buy whoever they like. No other club in the world has that ability."