Source: Team_Talk
Di Matteo bemoans short-term culture
West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo says the heat on Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is a symptom of football's "short-term" culture.[LNB] The Baggies play City at The Hawthorns on Sunday knowing that a win would take them above their wealthy visitors, as well as heap more pressure on Mancini.[LNB]Di Matteo believes the concept of giving a manager space to settle in has vanished in recent times.[LNB]"There doesn't seem to be a lot of patience in the last couple of years," he said.[LNB]"It makes it difficult. You lose a couple of games and you're under enormous pressure.[LNB]"Once upon a time you got a bit more time to work with players and build a team, so I guess it's just the way things are going at the moment.[LNB]"It's about short-term results rather than long-term targets."[LNB]Di Matteo admits the pressure on Mancini is not unique, as all bosses are expected to get results.[LNB]He said: "I think it's part of our job. If you lose a couple of games you're going to be put under pressure. That happens to everyone.[LNB]"It's not something that happens at just one club. It's the nature of our profession.[LNB]"Every club has its level of expectation. They are expecting as much from him as any other chairman expects from his manager.[LNB]"If I was bottom of the table you can imagine what kind of pressure I would be under. It just comes with the size of the club and the budget they have.[LNB]"It's normal that there's pressure on big clubs because they invest and they expect, but my chairman expects results from me."[LNB]Di Matteo believes his club's position at the upper end of the Premier League table shows that money is not the only factor which contributes to success.[LNB]He added: "That's the beauty of the game, isn't it? That's why so many people love football. It's unpredictable.[LNB]"It would be boring if you looked at teams' budgets and said 'Okay, that club will be first, that one will be second'."[LNB]But despite Mancini being under pressure following a run of three straight defeats in all competitions, Di Matteo does not think it is necessarily a good time to face City.[LNB]"I think that when you have a team filled with so many quality players that can individually win the game, I don't think you can say that it's a good time to play them," he said.[LNB]"For me they are going to be firing on all cylinders, that's what I'm expecting.[LNB]"I just hope my players are going to compete against one of the best teams in the country."[LNB]Di Matteo also added his support for Mancini, saying: "You look at his CV and he's one of the best managers around. That's what I think."
