Source: Man_City
Mancini turns up the volume
Roberto ManciniCity boss Roberto Mancini has pleaded with Blues fans to be the 12th man in their push for fourth spot. Mancini believes that the noisy Eastlands faithful may just make the difference as the battle for the final Champions League spot reaches its climax. In the eyes of the Italian, that battle is between the Blues, Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa. And with City facing four of their final six matches at Eastlands - including clashes with Villa and Spurs early next month - Mancini feels it is crucial they make home advantage count. "Our home form will be important," Mancini said. "We need our supporters to get right behind us." The first of those four home games is against Birmingham's awkward squad tomorrow. Alex McLeish's men have proved a right pain for the Premier League's glory chasers this season - holding all of the current top six, including City, to draws at St Andrew's. And although they haven't been quite so hot on their travels - losing nine of their 16 away league games - Mancini still expects a tough encounter tomorrow. "Birmingham are a strong team," Mancini said. "They defend very well. They have a good manager. I have watched them four or five times. "If we want to beat them, we must play very, very well." City could hardly be in a better frame of mind going into tomorrow's clash, having thumped Burnley 6-1 at Turf Moor last Saturday. Mancini's men have lost just one of their last nine in the league, but the boss insists that run of form will count for little if they slip up against Birmingham. He said: "I don't know if the Burnley performance was the best since I came here. What I do know is that it is now in the past. We played a very good first half. We started very well. But I think we've played very well in other matches too. "When you are 5-0 up at half-time, of course it is a fantastic performance. That sort of performance can happen only once every three or four months. That's football. "Yes, it was good for the team to score so many goals. But I think we are in a battle with Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa over the next six games. "I think there are four teams battling for one place. "If we want to get fourth position, we must show the same levels of focus and performance that we produced at Burnley in our remaining matches." And as far as the City boss is concerned, that means not allowing attention to wander on to next Saturday's Eastlands derby against United. He said: "We must focus on Birmingham, because that is the most important game for us right now. It will be a difficult game. "Afterwards, we can think about Manchester United. But for now, we focus on Birmingham. It will be difficult for us if we don't have the same concentration that we had against Burnley. Mancini will go into tomorrow's game without midfielder Stephen Ireland, who is still suffering with an ankle problem. Brazilian full-back Sylvinho, who made his first league start since Boxing Day at Turf Moor, is also struggling with a calf problem. He will, though, have the in-form Carlos Tevez to unleash on Birmingham's defence. Tevez has been the star of City's push for the Champions League, bagging seven goals in five games since returning at the end of February from time off in Argentina. The striker has scored 20 of the Blues' 64 Premier League goals. And according to Mancini, he is as vital to City as a certain England striker is to United. He said: "Carlos is an important player for us, he is like Wayne Rooney at United. "We've had a lot of injuries this year. "Now we have three or four important players injured, but I hope that for the last six games, we can play with a full squad." Tevez will be aiming to add to his tally against a Birmingham side lacking keeper Joe Hart, who is on a season-long loan from the Blues. Hart cannot play tomorrow under the terms of that deal - a blow to McLeish, who has made no secret of the fact that he wants to borrow the young keeper for another season. But Mancini has dropped a strong hint that he will keep Hart at Eastlands if City qualify for next season's Champions League. He said: "For me, it is important that a top team has two top goalkeepers." | Submit Comments| Comments (37)| PrintWhat's this? Emaildel.icio.usDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponNewsvineGoogle BookmarksNetscapeTechnoratiWindows LiveYahoo! MyWebMa.gnolia
