ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:ROBERTO MANCINI is confident Carlos Tevez will not get a hostile reception when he plays for Manchester City tonight for the first time since going public with his wish to leave the club.
Tevez will lead City’s attack against Everton in a Premier League match that is not expected to be threatened by the snow, though Mancini is considering removing the captaincy from the Argentinian until the issue of his future is settled.
“The fans were fantastic for us when we played Juventus in Turin on Thursday and they should continue to support a team like they have in other times,” Mancini said.
“It’s important we are focused only on Everton and that the supporters are focused on Everton. We should forget this (Tevez) because we must focus on the game. We can only beat them if we play like this.”
Mancini has spoken to Tevez over the weekend to make it clear how important he is to the club and attempt to dissuade him from pushing for a transfer.
Tevez’s position is not thought to have changed but Mancini is confident the club’s leading scorer, with 10 goals this season, is in the right frame of mind to play and will not allow the controversy to affect his form.
“It will not be any different for Carlos,” he said.
“He’s a football player, he loves football, and he still plays like when he was young playing in the garden every day, whether it’s in training or in an important match, he always plays the same way.”
The club’s chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, will be at Eastlands for the match, although it is not clear whether he will become personally involved with the campaign to make Tevez change his mind and withdraw his transfer request.
Back in August Everton manager David Moyes believed he would be alongside City in pursuit of Champions League qualification, not separated by 12 places and 14 points before Christmas. Moyes has not completely revised those aspirations but, without a sustained recovery starting at Eastlands, he will soon have no choice.
“I’m not quite at the point of giving up thinking I can have a good year,” said Moyes, whose side are without a win in seven matches.
“We are not quite there yet but obviously that will be coming shortly if we don’t pick up results. I hoped we would have been in a similar position to City this season, who I would now put as outsiders to win the Premier League, but our start and the way we are at the moment makes that look almost impossible.
“But we are a good team as well and the players know if it is our night then we are capable of getting a result. We just haven’t had enough of those days this season.
“I think it is how you are when you come out of Christmas and how you are going into January that gives you a clearer idea of where you stand. We can still get to the level where we want to go but, if not, then we will look at it differently.”
A lack of a proven striker is Everton’s glaring weakness and remains an area the Scot is desperate to address in January. The City pair of Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz are both of interest if surplus to requirements at Eastlands and made available on loan. Everton cannot afford any other solution, and Moyes does not believe a major overhaul is required.
“Maybe I’ll get a great striker in and realise it’s not just that – that there is something else wrong,” he said.
“But until I plug that gap I won’t find out if that is the reason.”
Guardian Service
