They think it’s all over
STINKER ... Mancini's title is slipping away
Last Updated: 23rd February 2013
ROBERTO MANCINI is set to concede the title race.
Manchester City will fall a massive 15 points behind Manchester United if the leaders win at rock-bottom QPR today.
And boss Mancini says it will all be over if that happens and City fail to beat Chelsea at the Etihad tomorrow.
The Italian said: “We must win to keep the title race alive because I think United will win at QPR.”
City won the Prem in dramatic fashion with the final kick of the season last May when they denied United glory.
But they could be virtually handing their crown back to their bitter rivals THREE months early following their recent slump.
MANCHESTER CITY manager focused on going for top spot rather than challenge of Chelsea and Spurs
City defeated Leeds in the FA Cup last weekend but they are still hurting after their abysmal display at Southampton in their last league outing.
And there are just 11 games remaining after this weekend.
City still have to face United at Old Trafford on April 8.
And Mancini retains a glimmer of hope his side can still topple Alex Ferguson’s runaway leaders.
But the manager added: “We should hope that United can lose points between now and the derby. Only with this will we have a chance of winning this title.
“We don’t know if we can finish in first place, second place or third place.
“We have 12 games and we should do our best from now until the end.
“Then when the season is over we’ll see what happened.
“If you ask me if I’m happy to finish in second place, I would not be happy. I would be disappointed.
“But we’ve got 12 games and we can’t think that it’s finished now.”
Asked if he expected more from his players this season, Mancini added: “The year after a team wins a title, it could be that you don’t play like when you won the championship, without the same intensity.
“Until now, I think United have been better than us.
“But the only difference is that we didn’t score enough goals. In this moment our problem is only that we are missing 10 or 12 goals.”
As for calls for him to go, Mancini said: “In the last 18 months since United won the Premier title, there were seven trophies to play for and City won three of those.
“If I didn’t win for two or three years I would say, ‘I don’t want to stay’. I just couldn’t continue to stay.
“But I think that what we did in the last two years is important for the club.
“This year we still have two chances to win trophies — the league title and the FA Cup.”
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4808700/Roberto-Mancini-set-to-concede-title-race.html#ixzz2Lk6078S6
