Zabaleta backs Mancini approach

Pablo Zabaleta has defended Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, w
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ho he believes has a tough job keeping everyone happy.

Pablo Zabaleta has defended Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who he believes has a tough job keeping everyone happy.

The 28-year-old has been a key player under the Italian this season, particularly as he has been forced to fill in for skipper Vincent Kompany in the centre of defence on occasion.

Zabaleta also recognises that Mancini has a hard time when it comes to the man-management aspect of the job, with 25 players all needing to be rotated.

“With 25 players it isn’t easy for the manager to work and keep everybody happy,” he told The Guardian.

“Sometimes if a player has been dropped for a game because Mancini wants to make a change, it’s difficult for them, they go down, because they want to play. That happens in all teams.”

Divisions were highlighted by last season’s dispute between the manger and Carlos Tevez, with the forward refusing to come on as a substitute and spending several months away from the club.

“When you lose a game everybody is upset,” explained Zabaleta. “It is difficult for the manager because his team isn’t playing well and sometimes after the game is not the right time to say something.

“It’s better sometimes to calm down and talk about what happened. From something very small it grew so big.”

Of the club’s internal inquiry into the Tevez incident, Zabaleta said: “I just told the truth. I was next to Carlos and I gave my answer to the club, the truth.

“The positive thing is that Carlos came back again and the commitment for the club and team has been 100 percent. So that is well done by him.”

Even though the club have failed to make an impression in Europe since the arrival of Sheikh Mansour over three years ago, Zabaleta believes the experiences they have had so far in the Champions League will help them in the coming years.

“We are a team (built) over the last four years; it’s not really easy for a team to build up the mentality to try to keep winning every year, like top teams around Europe,” he said.

“Probably this year we needed to show we wanted to retain the title and it’s been very difficult. So we know that we need to do something more, give something more, try to do better, to create that strong mentality that we need.

“You just need to be consistent. It is a position where you have to work more for the team, offensively, defensively. Sometimes we have to accept we are not the stars but we just try to do the best for the team.

“We know we have great, fantastic players but probably we have to be stronger as a group to be one of the top teams in Europe.”