Mancini: Tevez would be playing if he had apologised

ROBERTO MANCINI has insisted Carlos Tevez would still be part of his plans at Manchester City if he had apologised in the aftermath of his refusal to warm up during the Champions League tie at Bayern Munich last month.

“You always need to behave in a loyal way, especially if you are the captain of Manchester City, a prestigious club,” said Mancini. “Anyone can make a mistake and no error becomes irreparable. It would have been sufficient to apologies to close the case. But he didn’t want to. Now the club will decide what happens. I spend my time focusing on the team and what happens on the pitch. Tevez is still a great striker.”

Mancini brushed off the compliments that Tevez’s former coach at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, gave him for the handling of the episode and instead said he took greater pleasure from the 6-1 defeat of United at Old Trafford.