Manchester City Football Club

• Nickname:Sky Blues
• Founded:1887
• Manager:Roberto Mancini

• Ground:City of Manchester Stadium
• Capacity:47805

Mancini: League Cup not a priority

23 Sep 2010 - 08:04:01

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Manager Roberto Mancini defended his team selection after seeing Manchester City beaten 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion in the third round of the Carling Cup.

Mancini admitted that his priority was the weekend Premier League showdown with Chelsea after the Citizens were defeated at The Hawthorns.

The Italian commented: "I don't regret making the changes. I have big problems at the moment and we couldn't take any risks.

"If I had more players available it would be a different team, but when you play like us and Chelsea, on Saturday at 12.45, the time to recover is very short.

"They would need a minimum three days, so to play tonight would have been dangerous.

"Saturday is more important, the FA Cup is more important. The Europa League is more important.

"I did not regard this as a necessary sacrifice. We wanted to win, that is why I had four senior players on the bench.

"But I knew there was a chance we could lose because we started with six young players.

"I am happy with these guys. We might have lost the game but they can improve. If they do not play tonight, when will they ever play?"