City hungry for more silverware

VICTORY was a moment to savour for Roberto Mancini and his players but £650 million (€746m) of recent investment means time is not allowed to stand still at Manchester City and thoughts turned immediately to the future once Vincent Kompany, the last man up, lifted the FA Cup.

Francis Lee, the former City player and chairman, once declared that if they gave cups for cock-ups then the club’s trophy cabinet would be full but now, after a 35-year wait, there is tangible evidence of success and the challenge is to ensure it lasts.

Mancini’s side certainly won’t win any prizes for their exhilarating play, although at times in the first half against Stoke they played with an uncharacteristic freedom, but this season has been all about hitting targets; a top four finish and silverware. On both counts the manager and squad have succeeded but before the last strains of Blue Moon faded at Wembley, Mancini was warning of the bigger tests to come.