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.