Mancini clear on striking options

Following his side lifting the inaugural Dublin Super Cup, Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini invited questions from the media, although perhaps he hadn’t expected as tough of a time as he received. The Italian was pestered with questions regarding his strikers and not so much asked for a reflection on the events that had just unfolded. While this appeared rather harsh on the forty-six year old, the futures of Craig Bellamy and Emmanuel Adebayor appear to be a lot clearer. As the FA Cup sat next to him, almost making a statement of superiority, Mancini looked at the trophy and said: “That is the past.”

“It is good to have strikers competing for the shirt. We are in a lot of competitions and we need that. When Carlos comes back, we will have four strikers. We cannot carry six.” When claims were made of Neil Lennon saying discussions between the clubs over Craig Bellamy had taken place, Mancini had very little grounds to deny it. “It’s possible” said the City boss. However, when further questioned, he did admit that he would be happy for Craig to leave in order to gain more playing time. “He is a good striker and needs to be playing. Celtic are a good team. I would let him go on loan because Craig deserves to play and he deserved to play for a good team. If they want him, sure.”

He also quickly dismissed the idea of keeping Emmanuel Adebayor at the club. "Manu is in Carrington. He wants to go to Real Madrid and if they want to take him, they can. We have four top strikers and it is really difficult," he added. “He needs to play and I would be happy for him to go back to Real Madrid.”

When asked if side’s win against Inter was a good indicator as to how they might get on in the Champions League, he smiled. “It was not an important game, it was only important for us because we want to put 90 minutes in our legs for next week's game," he said. "It is difficult to play two games in two days, but it was important mostly that we prepare well for next game.”