Mancini stands by formation

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is adamant top players should be able to fit into any system - and insisted only weak teams would collapse after one defeat.With his side losing 3-1 against Ajax on Wednesday, Mancini hauled off Joleon Lescott to play three defenders, and they immediately conceded again.In his post-match interview Micah Richards claimed his team-mates did not like the system, but Mancini said on Friday: "If you are a top player it is not important what system you use. If you don't understand a system like that, you cannot play for a top team."He went on: "What Micah said is not important. He answered a question. I understand people want to write about it, but to me it doesn't matter."Maybe Micah doesn't know because it his first game for two and a half months."City must now win their final three games to stand any chance of reaching the knock-out stages.Mancini has described that as being a "miracle" scenario.However, he does not feel it is a time to just give up."This is an important season for us," he said."If we allow one defeat to alter that we would be really weak. Strong teams can lose a game but it is important you understand the reasons, and what mistakes were made. You can learn from this and improve for the next game."

Source: PA