Shay Given became the latest player to voice his frustrations after losing his place to City’s first-choice goalkeeper Joe Hart, with Emmanuel Adebayor also reportedly threatening to leave last month if he was not a regular.
The problems have highlighted the dilemma Mancini faces in keeping City’s stars happy, but he insists the players must accept their roles in a squad rotation system if they are to launch a serious challenge for the Premier League title.
“It’s impossible that all the players are happy. In every club, 11 players are happy and the others unhappy. This is correct because if one player doesn’t play and is happy, he’s crazy,” said Mancini.
“I don’t know if Emmanuel wants to stay or not. I think he must stay because he has a contract with this club and he’s an important player.
“It’s impossible that every few days a player does an interview saying 'Oh, I’m not playing'. It’s important he can knock on my door and speak with me and I will explain the situation.
“I want a mentality like at Manchester United and Chelsea but it is difficult to change our mentality in five months.”
Given made his first appearance of the season in City’s 2-1 Carling Cup defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday night and a courageous performance will certainly have proved a point to his manager.
Adebayor may play a part in Manchester City’s Premier League clash against leaders Chelsea on Saturday despite a disagreement with the manager over his recovery from a dead leg.
By Luke Nicholls
