Mancini tells players to man up
City, who have led the table for most of the season, now trail arch-rivals Manchester United by a point with 10 games remaining after losing at Swansea on Sunday.
That 1-0 loss came at the end of a bad week in which City were also beaten by the same scoreline in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie against Sporting in Portugal.
Mancini wants his team to refocus quickly knowing that, with a game against United still to come, the title is still within their grasp.
The Italian said: “I think that in Portugal and against Swansea we did not play a very good game, we did not play like Manchester City usually play.
“We didn’t deserve to lose both games but I think we need to play better. We can’t cry, now is the time to be strong and keep going. We have a top team and we have time to recover.
“We can’t cry because we are one point behind Manchester United.
“We have 10 games, our fortune is in our hands and we can change it if we want to.”
One City supporter was pictured crying after the loss at the Liberty Stadium and the sight of that has made Mancini extra determined to claim the club’s first league title since 1968.
He said: “We want to win the title, to do history for the club.
“We are very disappointed for our supporters after Swansea and I saw on the TV one supporter was crying.
“We want to win for this guy, for all the other supporters. We want to change this.
“We are disappointed for the defeat against Swansea but now our focus should be about Sporting Lisbon.”
City host the second leg tonight and Mancini has so far given no indication, in words or selection, that he regards the Europa League as a distraction.
It has been suggested since the weekend he may now have to tailor his teams to prioritise the Premier League bid, but he insists he is still going all out for both trophies.
Mancini said: “We can’t think negative at this moment.
“We are positive and we think we will win the Barclays Premier League and the Europa League.
“If we thought differently, it would be a mistake. It would be everything to win both competitions.”
City are hampered by defensive injuries with captain Vincent Kompany unlikely to return from his calf problem before the trip to Stoke on March 24 and right-back Pablo Zabaleta is still out with a hamstring injury.
Joleon Lescott has a chance of making the bench but Gareth Barry has suffered further discomfort from a back problem and could be rested.
Another who will not feature tonight, because he is not eligible, is striker Carlos Tevez but he will be in the matchday squad for their Premier League encounter with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium next Wednesday, provided the forward’s fitness programme continues smoothly, Roberto Mancini has confirmed.
Asked if Tevez could play against Chelsea, Mancini said: “We’ll see in the next week. If Carlos is OK then probably. But it depends on a lot of things.”
Tevez’s team-mate, Nigel de Jong, claims all of Manchester City’s players are ready to welcome him back.
“Everyone is keen [on his return] — he is still a player for Manchester City and we never doubted that. Of course he has had some difficulties with the club but he is here now and we like to look to the future instead of the past,” the midfielder said.
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