Soccer News

Manchester's Tevez hits out at Mancini training methods

Apr 13, 2010, 7:13 GMT

London - Manchester City's preparations for Saturday's derby against Manchester United were disrupted Tuesday as forward Carlos Tevez criticized manager Roberto Mancini.

Tevez, who joined City from United in the summer, also expressed disappointment at the sacking of Mancini's predecessor, Mark Hughes, and attacked the club for using his transfer to needle their rivals with a billboard poster featuring a photograph of him alongside the words 'Welcome to Manchester.'

The Argetinian specifically raised doubts about the effectiveness of Mancini's training methods.

'The players are not happy with this,' he said. 'We are at the end of a long season, we have big matches, we are tired but there are still double training sessions, morning and afternoon.

'Then, the next day, we train for two hours. I do not understand. But, please, he is the coach and I am the player. He is in charge. I am OK with him.'

The clear implication, though, was that he would have preferred Hughes, the manager who signed him, to have still been in charge.

'It is their club, their money,' he said of the club's Abu Dhabi- based owners. 'But, if you ask me if I thought it was the right decision, the answer is no.

'I will play for any manager; I play for the shirt and must respect the right of the people who make decisions to change things, but a team does not form overnight. Mark should have been given more time.

'The decision was taken with too much haste. Did the directors think it through?

'You cannot invest so much and then sack the manager after five months. Mark brought us all here. He is a great manager and he will get another big club, 100 per cent.''

Tevez has probably been City's best player this season, but admits he was uneasy from the start about the infamous billboard poster that led United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to term City 'a small club with a small mentality.'

'I never understood the intention of that poster,' Tevez said. 'What was the point?

'Was it to welcome me to Manchester City or was it to anger Manchester United?

'Nobody ever told me. I'm indifferent towards it, but it is important you know I had nothing to do with the poster. I'd have preferred for it not to be there.

'I have respect for all the clubs I used to play for. That was not showing respect, was it? I did not transfer from United to City for the controversy.'