Lescott pleased to see Tevez back

Joleon Lescott says he is delighted by the prospect of team-mate Carlos Tevez’s return to the Manchester City first team.

The striker’s future had been in serious doubt after a well-publicised fall-out with manager Roberto Mancini, but that has been resolved and Tevez is back in training.

And Lescott said the whole team is pleased to see the Argentine marksman nearing a return.

“When Micah Richards saw him, he picked him up and nearly put him through the ceiling,” Lescott told the Daily Mail.

“It was done through compassion rather than anger, I have to say, like something you would do with a child, just being so happy to see them and stuff.”

“Mics just lifted him up. That was quite funny and broke the ice.”

“He was probably nervous coming back but he would have known deep down after that we all wanted him back and we were willing to let what’s happened go.”

The 29-year old is certain Tevez can make his mark on the Premier League again.

“Carlos can have an impact, definitely,” Lescott said.

“A player of his quality would enhance any squad. And he hasn’t been injured, so he’s not going to be that rusty. He hasn’t played for a few months but he still looks sharp. On his day he’s up there with the best.”

City lost top spot last weekend with a surprise defeat at Swansea, and Lescott is stunned by the sudden criticism the team is facing.

But he is confident they will recover and continue their title push.

“It’s strange to hear people say we’re second now so we can’t win the league,” he said.

“If we’d come from behind and were all of a sudden one point behind United going into the last 10 games of the season, then everyone would think what a great position we were in. It only seems disappointing because we’ve been top for so long.”

“Obviously more of the United individuals have won the Premier League so people think they have an advantage in the run-in, but a lot of our players have won titles and medals elsewhere.”

“We’ve got David Silva, who’s won the World Cup and European Championship and I don’t think you can get more experience than that. He hasn’t come into training in tears after losing a match, of course not. None of us do that.”

“When we beat United 6-1 in October, we didn’t think we’d won the league. Players like David are level-headed all the way through, and if we show the overall level of consistency we’ve shown so far in the season, I’m sure we will push United all the way to the final game.”