Citizens shun Sven rumours
14 Apr 2008 - 12:02:33
Manchester City have dismissed weekend reports suggesting that manager Sven-Goran Eriksson's position could be under threat after a poor run of form.
The Citizens were UEFA Cup hopefuls earlier this season, but have slipped out of contention on the back of just two wins in their last eight games, sparking talk that owner Thaksin Shinawatra might be tempted to make a change.
Head of communications Paul Tyrrell told the Manchester Evening News: "The chairman made it clear recently that he was happy with the progress made and that a top-ten finish was his target this season.
"Our win at Sunderland equals the club's biggest points tally in Premier League history and with four games to go everybody remains focussed on continuing the dramatic progress we have made."
Meanwhile, Eriksson felt that Brazilian playmaker Elano was finally back to something like top form in the 2-1 weekend win at Sunderland.
He told the club's official website: "It's good to see a player like Elano coming back and doing so many good things again.
"We need the real Elano and I hope he stays like this until the end of the season. He's been out of form a little bit for some time.
"Elano's the player with imagination who can see things, play team-mates in and score goals as well, but he worked hard defensively against Sunderland as well. That was important with what kind of game we knew it would be."
