Roberto Mancini, after taking training for the first time with Brian Kidd then met the hacks for an intriguing press conference during which questions about ‘Hughesgate’ riled Garry Cook…
After looking to draw a line under Sparky’s sacking with a lengthy official site statement and address at the press conference whereby it was revealed that Mancini was offered the City job after the season’s second defeat at Spurs, Cook waded in angrily at one point. Manna from heaven for the assembled hacks:
‘I really think we need to know that everybody is committed to making this club one of greatest in the world. There are no conspiracy theories. We are working hard every day to make this a successful football club. We need to draw a line and move on to the future, and that’s all I’ll say on that subject, thank you.’
You only have to take a glance across Planet Blue’s message boards to see that Cook is not coming out of this mid-season managerial change with any credit from the vast majority of City fans.
A shame that focus drifted away from Mancini’s first appearance, who is reknowned as an honourable bloke. He made his intentions clear:
‘In this moment my target is City in the top four. Next season we want to win the league.’
His Highness Sheikh Mansour is obviously no longer prepared to hang about.
Mancini acknowledged Craig Bellamy’s upset at Mark Hughes departure as understandable, continuing:
‘Today is the first in Carrington. I don’t have a problem with the players. The training is good. It’s normal. I hope when I go away in ten years they react the same as with Mark. I tell them to believe in ourselves, they are great players.I think that my job consists in hard work every day and I think that together we arrive to win something.”
The new City boss then hinted at new signings in a week or so’s time:
“I don’t know if January will be busy or not. We will lose Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor for the African Cup of nations and we have two or three bad injuries at the moment so that is my main concern.
Mancini must now hit the ground running. All at VMC wish him every success in his high pressure post.
VMC City Video Link: Roberto Mancini First Interview
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