New boy Stefan Savic soon made his mark on Roberto Mancini – a couple of  stud marks on his ankle!

The no-nonsense Montenegrin defender did not hold back when Mancini – no  shrinking violet in his playing days – joined in a training match during the club’s pre-season camp in Los Angeles.

He launched into a shuddering challenge, sending Mancini cartwheeling. The manager rose gingerly to his feet with a pained smile and limped away from  the challenge as the rest of the players howled with laughter.

Savic, soon nicknamed ‘Robbie’, had only joined up with the Blues a couple of days earlier after completing his £9million move to Manchester from Partizan Belgrade.

Respect

It did not take him long to earn the respect of the gaffer –  and the admiration of his new team-mates.

A grinning Joe Hart said: “It was awesome – I was watching it. 

“Brilliant! The gaffer was training and Stefan properly did him.

“I think that’s a statement of intent. The gaffer took it well, I think he’d love all that.

“If the boss wants to get involved in training I think he should realise he will get the treatment off the players.

“Everyone had a laugh about it, I was roaring with laughter.”

City have become well-known for their no-holds- barred training sessions. 

Last season crunching tackles led to highly-publicised bust-ups between Jerome Boateng and Mario Balotelli, and, a month later, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor.

With competition for places fierce, the only way players not in the team can show their desire is in training matches.

And the philosophy at City, as at most top teams, is that replicating the high-octane situation of a Premier League game is the best way of preparing for one.

“You train as you want to play,” said Hart, who was speaking at the launch of a new partnership between City and EA Sports, at the company’s world headquarters in Vancouver.

“It’s really intense and we’ve got winners here. You can’t train one way then go out and play differently. You have to do it the same way.

“There are so many good players here that you can’t just stroll around and see how you go. In the five-a-sides at the end of training, it’s murder if you don’t win. 

That’s why we love it – we love the game, we love the passion.”

That passion came as something of a jolt to the other new boy in the City defence, Gael Clichy. He is used to a much gentler regime at Arsenal.

James Milner said last week that Clichy had been shocked by the strength of  some of the tackles in training, leading to some commentators suggesting  that might be at the heart of the Gunners’ lack of trophy success over the last six years.

Hart backed-up Milner’s assessment and suggested the bust-ups were just part and parcel, and soon forgotten – if anything they add to the team camaraderie.

He said: “Clichy didn’t know what had hit him with people flying in. There was no malice in it but the ball is there, and you want it.

“We’re all men, if someone doesn’t like something you want to settle it. 

“But it’s only a flash moment.

“Sometimes there’s a bit of bad blood, but obviously everyone respects each other. We’re a football team not a bunch of idiots who just go around fighting each other.

“It’s dealt with and we say what needs to be said. If it’s out of order it’s made known to them.”

Hart yesterday lost his number two Shay Given as the Irish stalwart completed a £3.5million deal with Aston Villa.

Successful

Given lost his number one spot when Hart came back from a successful loan spell at Birmingham. He leaves with glowing praise from his young usurper.

“I’ve loved every minute of working with Shay,” said Hart, whose form last season firmly established him as top dog for club and country.

“I have spoken to him a few times since we have been out here checking that everything is all right and keeping him updated, because he’s been a massive part of this squad.

“If he walked into our training camp now, faces would light up, including mine, because he’s a big character, and he’s a great goalkeeper with what he has done in the game and watching him and working with him has really helped my game. He’s taught me all sorts.”

Some goalkeepers might have felt resentment at being unceremoniously shoved aside by the young buck, but Given has never been less than supportive.

Said Hart: “We’re fighting for one position and we totally understand that but we are not fighting each other, we are fighting to catch the manager’s eye.

“I had a situation before where the manager (Mark Hughes) chose him ahead of me and then this manager has changed it round.

“Shay’s been different class. I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s been helpful on and off the field. I hope he does well.

“It goes without saying that Shay is too good to be a number two ‘keeper. 

“And an old manager of mine – Alex McLeish – will be over the moon.”

City have no immediate intentions to replace Given, which is a huge vote of confidence in number three Stuart Taylor, who has played one FA Cup tie, against Scunthorpe, in the two years he has been at the club.

In fact, Taylor has played just 30 Premier League games in his 14 years on the books of Arsenal, Villa and City, along with 38 appearances while on loans to lower division clubs.

But Taylor is a dependable understudy, and happy to fulfil that role – and Hart says his contribution in the last two years should not be dismissed.

“Stuart was number two behind Shay and then when I came back from Birmingham he was number three but we have always regarded him as a huge part of the squad.”

Some clubs prefer two top keepers fighting it out for the jersey, while others prefer to have an undisputed number one and a lesser number two.

City will switch back from the former, and look for their youngsters to push Taylor for his place.

They have taken Norway under-19 keeper Eirik Johansen and 18-year-old German Loris Karius – who was being hunted by all of Europe’s top clubs when the Blues landed him as a 16-year-old – to California with them.

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