Mancini: No feud with Tevez

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has dismissed suggestions of a long-running feud with unsettled striker Carlos Tevez.

On Friday, Tevez’s advisor Kia Joorabchian claimed there had been conflict between the two throughout the Argentine’s time at City and cited the dispute as one of the main reasons behind his client’s desire to leave the club.

But Mancini insisted he always had a good working relationship with his former captain and suggested Tevez is the one who should accept responsibility for the situation he finds himself in.

“Carlos doesn’t have any problem with me,” Mancini said.

“Everyone should always answer for his behaviour.”

“If a player is at one club and wants to go to another, it is an option for the player. Maybe for the club it is a big problem.”

Mancini said there will be no new arrivals at City before the end of the transfer window, although he admitted he did not know whether Tevez will remain at the club beyond Tuesday, as talks with AC Milan, Inter and PSG are all understood to have broken down.

The Italian was keen to move on from the Tevez saga, and was focused on City’s league match with Everton at Goodison on Tuesday.

“For now we have a training session – tonight we go to sleep, tomorrow we wake up and have a game. This is the most important thing for us,” he said.

In addition to the continued absence of Tevez, City take on Everton without Mario Balotelli, who is serving the second game of a four-match ban for stamping on Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker.

Mancini maintains the punishment is harsh, but did not dwell on the issue.

“It is in the past, we can do nothing. I have said my opinion, it’s finished,” he said. “I can change nothing.”

“I think we have been very unlucky in the last 40 days with these situations on the pitch.”

“Our motivation should only be that we are top and we want to stay there. To do this we have to work very hard in the next two months.”