Mancini staying cool

MANCHESTER City boss Roberto Mancini insisted he was not concerned after seeing Manchester United extend their lead over the Barclays Premier League champions to seven points.

Defeat at Sunderland, coupled with United’s battling 4–3 home victory over Newcastle, saw Sir Alex Ferguson’s men reach the halfway stage of the season with a commanding lead, but one the Italian is

confident is far from decisive.

He said after the 1–0 loss: “It hasn’t changed. At this moment United are better than us, they are at the top, but we have time to recover.

“We need to resolve our problems before and after, maybe we can win. It’s no problem, seven points.

“That’s not important. We know United are a fantastic team and probably they will win every game, but the season is long and it is not important if it is six or seven or four points.”

The most pressing problem Mancini has to resolve, in his view, is their propensity to be “too soft” in attacking positions.

They passed up several opportunities at the Stadium of Light – skipper Vincent Kompany hit the bar with an early header and Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero were all denied by the excellent Simon Mignolet.

Ultimately, City old boy Adam Johnson proved the difference between the sides when his 53rd–minute shot squirmed underneath the flat–footed Joe Hart.