NEW Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has set his sights on a top four finish this season - and plans to guide the Blues to Premier League title glory in the next campaign.
Mancini confirmed his contract will run for three and a half years and revealed former City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson - under whom he played in Serie A - had been in touch.
“Sven called me yesterday, he is very happy for me, he said Manchester City is a fantastic club.”
“After Inter Milan I wanted to stop for one year but I had four (approaches from clubs). I preferred to wait because I wanted to go to England and the Premier League.”
He added: “My squad usually play to win, always. My target is to arrive in the top four - but it’s my objective, my target. I think it’s possible.
“Next year we want to win the Premier League.
“City is a big club. I want to stay here for many, many years and I want to contribute to winning many trophies because City has great supporters and I hope we do a good job for them.
“My job is to work hard every day to improve the play, to improve the victories. This is all.
“I think I can do a good job because we have good players.”
Training
Mancini took training with the City players for the first time on Monday.
“I told them to believe in ourselves and they are great players and we can win if we work hard every day,” he said.
The former Inter Milan coach will wait before deciding whether he wants to bring in any players of his own, but he does not feel his Premier League inexperience will be an issue.
“I want to see this week the players and after we’ll make a decision,” he said. “For now it’s important we concentrate on Stoke.
“I played in (the) Premier League 10 years ago with Leicester and I watched the Premier League for many years.
“Last year I stayed in Milan and I saw a lot of games. I think that football is the same (throughout) the world.”
Mancini expressed sympathy for his predecessor, saying: “I’m sorry for Mark but when we start this job, this situation is possible.
“My job is a manager. I stayed in Italy for four years and I won seven trophies.
“At the end of the season they sacked me. This is our job.
“I don’t want to look back.”
What do you think? Have your say.
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The Insider, CTID. (21/12/2009 at 16:58)
stand up if you love city!!!!!!!!!!!, warrington (21/12/2009 at 17:00)
hes at city now,just hope hes not another benitez!!!!!!!
BristolStevefromOldham, bristol (21/12/2009 at 17:02)
Raffles2009, UK (21/12/2009 at 17:04)
Esso Blue In the CITY, Manchester (21/12/2009 at 17:06)
28Rosler, Manchester (21/12/2009 at 17:11)
You are now the latest lucky recipient of the most fantastic job in the world of football; you are now manager of Manchester City Football Club, you are the Manager of our team.
You have inherited a team of players that on their day can beat any team in the league. You are three games away from our first trophy since 1976. You sit in 6th position in the Premier League with an opportunity to make history.
You have been given the opportunity to manage God's own team, directing your new charges in front of 47,000 loyal supports every home match, with the best away support in the country.
You also have the support of our new owners, a middle eastern royal family who will invest millions and millions of pounds into your transfer kitty to buy the best players available around the world.
In short, you have been given the opportunity of your lifetime.
Please, please, please DO NOT let this opportunity pass you by.
Please, please, please DO NOT let your new teams long suffering fans down.
Please, please, please rewrite history and turn this wonderful club of ours and great bfootballing institution into the most feared team in the country.
Grasp this opportunity with both hands, bring us success and we will love you for it.
Become a Hero.
The Blue Solution, Always looking to the future (21/12/2009 at 17:18)
Fred Eyre's Stationer, Leeds (21/12/2009 at 17:26)
100% Blue, only hate man utd (and spurs), Manchester (21/12/2009 at 17:26)
Mancini will take time to adjust to managing in the PL, but he will be instantly better than the Welshman. Good luck Hughesy, but stay away from City in future; it was bound to end like this; rags just don't make good managers; they ride on past reputation as players, which has nought to do with great management.
Onwards and upwards. I feel so happy now the club is rag-free. Sure Kiddo played for United, but he played for City for many years and was an established player and a fan favourite, not to mention his prolific goal-scoring record at City. Brian Kidd has earned the respect and acceptance of City fans. Hughes just arrogantly waltzed in hungry for success (and a massive pay deal) with no respect for Blackburn, who he dumped in the lurch and he didn't give it a thought that many City fans would be repulsed at an ex-rag managing the club. Okay. said my piece. Happy days ahead...pip pip City 4 Stoke 2
Lifelong Sufferer, Stockport (21/12/2009 at 17:28)
I have faith in you both to help our club finally reach for the stars.
The Blue Solution, Always looking to the future (21/12/2009 at 17:50)
Raffles2009, UK
Eh??
I don't give a hoop if they start busting the onion bag - Give your head a wobble mate
JCMAC (21/12/2009 at 17:52)
karen tyler (21/12/2009 at 17:52)
Some City fans saying they had never heard of him, were they either joking or must be under 25!
It was not the fact we only lost 2, it was the fact we collapsed in too many games and threw 2 points away, substitutions were poor or came far too late!
Bringing in an old man at left back, where is our wonderful youth policy?
Now move on, get behind him and ignore those troublemakers whose lies are tomorrows chip paper!
Merry Xmas
TOE, NEW MILLS (21/12/2009 at 17:55)
You are a PLONKER mate! you dont want city players playing well??? If they start playing well, its because mark hughes was inept as a manager.
In all walks of life people excell better under better nanagement.
What is the problem with all you doom mongers who only listen to spineless newspaper reports.
Mark hughes is not a man city fan, none of the players are man city fans, they are man city employees.
I am a lifelong city fan and i dont give a tosh who plays who manages as long as we are successfull and i get to watch the club i love play fanatastic football and win trophies.
I want man city to be the biggest and best in the world.
And it was refreshing to hear a manchester city manager set his own targets of a champions league place this year and winning the title next year.
Some of you would welcome back the swales years with open arms, the frank clarke and allan ball days.
COME ON CITY!!!
CTID
Sam Haggar-Lowestoft-MCFC4LIFE (21/12/2009 at 17:59)
GET HIM OUT OF MY CLUB
Esso Blue In the CITY, Manchester (21/12/2009 at 18:07)
Jim , Furness Vale (21/12/2009 at 18:09)
One things for sure is that our owners will keep going until they succeed and Al Mubarek won't be going anywhere. Lessons will be learnt and talking to people about jobs is no problem. Offering the job should have been done after Hughes was removed not before !
g1lly blue (21/12/2009 at 18:10)
They built fort Ardwick on my old house., Hartlepool (21/12/2009 at 18:13)
28Rosler, Manchester
Are you on mind altering drugs ?
Blessedtobeablue, Centre of Universe(Man) (21/12/2009 at 18:13)
Lets stop bleating and move on....If it wasn't for the money it would be a completely different scenario...What would Sparky have done if Utd came knocking????
Now if I'm not wrong the few Italians that have dabbled in the Premiership have done pretty well in their situations!! And lest we forget a certain Mr Capello............
tonybookoverlapping, on the wing (21/12/2009 at 18:15)
he's not. according to italian friends, he plays to win, more like mourinho, in that he can also organise strong defence, and can change a game tactically. in fact, mourinho will do well to emulate mancini's achievments at Inter, and may also be sacked eventually for failing to win them the champions league. whereas if we get to the point where MCFC sack mancini for failing to win us the champions league, we'll probably be doing ok....!
onward and upward, good luck and thank you to MH, and welcome roberto. you're the man now, so go ahead and do the business. maicon and chiellini would not be a bad start, plus yaya toure, but what we really need is a strong italian centre-back, please...!!
Raindazed (21/12/2009 at 18:17)
Bert Trautmann's FG42 , The Eastern Front of Manchester (21/12/2009 at 18:17)
Are these the same words you said to Hughes???
Sick and tired of all you treacherous anti-City Hughes muppets. You really are a sickening disgrace to this club. You are nothing less than traitors. Why don't you all gang together and establish FC City of Manchester, with Mark Hughes as your first manager?
Since it was the Hull game that Khaldoon decided enough was enough, I would love to know if any of the traitors on here today, slating the club, were also at that game booing. Would be very interesting.
As for Garry Cook at the press conference - don't mess with the Cookey Monster! He's got balls, passion and demands success. Jeez, you'd think the sacking of Hughes was some masterplan to get this club relegated. Well, I'm sorry, but it's actually a masterplan to make us champions. But this seems lost on anyone with the IQ of anything less than a half-eaten baked potato.
MANCINI, MANCINI, MANCINI!!!
Reading between the lines, seems he does indeed have six months to finish in the Top 4. Question is though, what/who have the club got lined up if he doesn't? And even if he does, will he still lose his job?
Don't care at the moment. All I'm thinking about now is City, City, City and winning, winning, winning!
Portsmouth Blue (21/12/2009 at 18:19)
Back him back the club back the team we are on the right road ok there will be a few bums but hey we are city the real deal the super city.
Neil Smith (21/12/2009 at 18:20)