Platt praises City resolve

MANCHESTER City first team coach David Platt was delighted the team put the Carlos Tevez controversy behind them to beat struggling Blackburn Rovers 4–0 in the Barclays Premier League at Ewood Park.

City boss Roberto Mancini has alleged Tevez refused to play as a substitute in the 2–0 Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich in midweek — a claim denied by Tevez who has been suspended by the club.

City swept aside Rovers with goals from Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli, Samir Nasri and Stefan Savic.

Platt said: “We wanted to win a football match and that’s what we’ve prepared for since we got in on Thursday.

“We put Bayern Munich to bed and concentrated all our preparations on getting a result.

“We’re blessed that one of the hardest things we’ve got is picking an 11 to go into a match. We know we can make six changes like we have done here and you don’t lose that quality of performance.”

The defeat piled more pressure on Rovers boss Steve Kean, who had to endure a post–match protest by fans.

However, he remains defiant and said: “If the fans want to vent (their frustration) I’d rather they vent it at me than the team.

“I told the lads I will battle on for my players. Even the ones I didn’t bring to the club I consider my players. I’ll take the criticism on my shoulders and take it away from them.”