Missing out on fourth not a failure - Mancini

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has denied he would be regarded as a failure if the Blues failed to claim a Champions League spot this season. When Mancini arrived at Eastlands amid a storm of controversy in December, one of the reasons cited for Mark Hughes' dismissal was the club's owners did not believe they were on course for a top-four slot. However, with City sixth with three games of the campaign remaining, he said: "No, I don't think I will have failed. We want to finish fourth and that is what we are working for."He added: "But we have improved a lot in the last five months and we must improve more if we want to be a good team. I think the owners can see that." City need to win Saturday's clash with Aston Villa to set up a decisive tussle with Tottenham next Wednesday.Mancini also believes he would benefit from having a full pre-season with his players and claimed he expects to be around in the summer to instigate more changes. "When you work with a team in pre-season it is easier to do your job," he said. "I imagine I will still be Manchester City manager. I hope so. I have a contract. I don't decide but I think I will be." Mancini flatly denied also drawing up a list of players he wanted to jettison, including Emmanuel Adebayor, Wayne Bridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips. "I never said that," he said. "I have had meetings with the club about players for the future but I never said there were players I did not want."

Source: PA