SOCCER:ROBERTO MANCINI has been assured he will remain as the manager of Manchester City in a public show of support from the club's rulers in Abu Dhabi.

City’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday means the richest club in English football will have to settle for a place in next season’s Europa League despite spending in excess of €236 million on players since the Abu Dhabi United Group took control in September 2008.

The chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, described himself as “disappointed but not sad” and emphasised there were no plans to replace the former Internazionale manager. “I think he has done an excellent job, coming in mid-season and organising the team,” he said. “I’m very happy with Roberto and [the owner] Sheikh Mansour is delighted with the way he has organised the team.

“I believe that, with a good pre-season to prepare the team, Roberto is going to do a wonderful job for many years. He is driven, committed and he has a winning mentality. He has the interests of the club at heart and he is definitely the right manager for this club for many years.”

Accompanied by the chief executive, Garry Cook, Mubarak went into the dressingroom after the game to thank the players for their efforts and express his confidence that, under Mancini, they would be in a better position to break into the Premier League’s top four next season.

“The owner called after the game and told me to go to see the players on his behalf,” Mubarak said. “It was a show of appreciation for a very special season.

“We just can’t allow ourselves to sulk. This has still been a good season. It’s not what we would have liked, maybe, because everybody would have like to win the league. But we are going to end up hopefully in fifth. It’s a good performance.”

Mancini is already planning to bring his wife, Federica, over to England in September and is now renting a house after spending his first few months in Manchester in a city-centre hotel. Mubarak has promised him “all the tools he needs to be prepared for next season” and the club will not be deterred from trying to sign Fernando Torres from Liverpool.

“We know the areas that need to be improved in the club and, with a good pre-season and good start to next season, I’m really excited about next season already,” Mubarak said. “The beauty of football is that there is always another year. We have made a big leap from a club that finished 10th to one that is now fifth and we are a different team this season.

“This is a much more organised team, we’re strong in every position and we have depth. The other teams now take us seriously and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Manchester City is now a force to be reckoned with.”

Mancini is confident Carlos Tevez will remain at the club despite the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The Argentina striker has previously queried Mancini’s training methods, although he stated earlier this week that he wanted the manager to stay in charge.

And Mancini insists that failure to reach the Champions League will have no impact on the future of Tevez. “Carlos Tevez has a contract with Manchester City and he will be here next season,” he said.