By John Richardson
RIVALS United have won titles galore since Manchester City were last champions in 1968. Now manager Roberto Mancini tells JOHN RICHARDSON why it could be time to sing the Blues again.
Roberto Mancini imposed a curfew on his Manchester City stars at the club’s player of the year ceremony on Thursday night, insisting any celebrations must wait until the Premier League title has been secured.
Party pooper Mancini sent all the players packing at 9pm to make certain there were no distractions as they prepared for the win-or-bust trip to Newcastle United today.
The Italian accepts the event was not ideally timed, especially as it came just two nights after a number of his players attended a charity fashion evening at the Old Trafford cricket ground, hosted by former City keeper Shay Given.
Mancini insisted: “No, I wasn’t concerned about the players being out on Thursday night because I was there. By 9pm I had pushed them all out and they were heading home. I stayed on until 10.30pm to represent the players.
“This was organised a month ago and it was difficult to change the date. The other thing earlier in the week was for charity, which is important.”
There will be no deadline for the celebrations if City can hold their nerve over the final two games and land their first title since 1968.
It has been some turnaround for Mancini and his players since a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on April 8 appeared to have wrecked their chances of overcoming mighty neighbours Manchester United.
Athough Mancini denies that chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak told him immediately after that game that his job was safe no matter what, he felt the spirit and unity were in place for City to come again.
Four games, four wins, 13 goals scored and one conceded later, the destiny of the title lies in Sky Blue hands.
Win at Newcastle today and at the Etihad next Sunday against QPR and the title drought will be over.
“No, it’s not true that the chairman talked about my future, although we did talk after the game,” Mancini said. “We were disappointed about that game, but you always have to wait until the last game because the situation can always change.
“On Monday night there were 650 million people in the world watching a game involving Manchester City and that is important.
“We have shown we have a good spirit. If that spirit remains the same, it won’t change if you lose one or two games. We have been fighting for the title all season, so you have to say the spirit and attitude are good.”
It’s an attitude which, Mancini maintains, helps to keep coveted stars like Sergio Aguero and David Silva at the club.
He added: “I think all these players want to stay because it’s going well, the feeling is good and we are one of the top clubs in Europe.
“But with these top players we need the others, like Pablo Zabaleta, Micah Richards, Nigel de Jong, Joleon Lescott.
Usually we only talk about Aguero because he scores, or about Carlos Tevez or Mario Balotelli because of his girlfriend. But we should think sometimes about the other players because they are important.
“The mentality changed two years ago. City has a high profile in the world. Maybe we need another one or two years but this is normal because you can’t change history in two or three years. It needs five, six or 10.”
Mancini is likely to select the same team which beat United on Monday, meaning Balotelli will again be on the bench.
The City boss didn’t flinch in his touchline spat with Sir Alex Ferguson but he still feels United have the edge mentally.
“They have been winning for 20 years, and when every year you win, win, win your mentality is strong,” he said. “It won’t change for them because they have lost one game.”
But he feels a victory on Tyneside could end their neighbours’ title domination serving notice on the party of all parties at the Etihad next Sunday – one certain to go on beyond 9pm if the championship has been won.
