Mancini eyes Champions League after Burnley floored

Roberto Mancini has his eyes firmly on playing in next season’s Champions League after Manchester City’s resounding 6-1 win over struggling Burnley in the Premier League moved them into fourth place.

City moved into final Champions League berth with Saturday’s win, which featured five different goalscorers.

It was City’s biggest away win in the Premier League and their best result in the top flight since a 5-0 win at Manchester United in February 1955.

“It’s important to be fourth now but it will be important to be there at the end of the season,” Mancini said. “Now we play six games and they are six difficult games but if we have concentration like the first half today we have a good chance.”

Mancini admitted he had never been part of a side that had gone 3-0 up after seven minutes and 5-0 up by half-time. Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice, with contributions from Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tevez, Patrick Vieira and Vincent Kompany.

“If Emmanuel and Carlos can carry on scoring we’ll have a chance (of finishing fourth),” Mancini said. “It’s usually important for the striker to score but if you have other players that can score, it’s important.”

Man City now has 59 points, followed by Tottenham with 58 and Liverpool and Aston Villa on 54 points.

Burnley’s defensive woes were highlighted by the fact that three goals – Adebayor’s first in the fourth minute, Vieira’s 20th minute strike and Kompany’s 58th-minute header- all came from corners.

The other goals came from Bellamy in the fifth minute, Tevez in the seventh and Adebayor in the 45th.

“The game was effectively over after six minutes,” Burnley manager Brian Laws said. “I didn’t expect it but if you give time and space to a team of that quality, they opened us up and killed the game.”

Burnley did pull a late goal back through Steven Fletcher in the 72nd minute but Laws drew few positives from the game.

“We went out there with a positive team trying to attack Manchester City at home and at the end of it, I was having to apologise for an awful display of defending,” Laws said.

“We’ve been losing by one goal and to see so many goals in six minutes was incredible. I feel let down but we’ve got to pick them up and we’ve got a massive game next week against Hull.

“I’m disappointed with the players and they’re disappointed with themselves because that was not the game-plan.”

Burnley remain in 19th place with 24 points. West Ham are in 17th and Hull are in 18th, both with 27 points, are the Clarets’ main relegation rivals.

Mancini admitted Tottenham’s 3-1 loss to Sunderland earlier Saturday had given his side a boost before the late kickoff.

“Tottenham losing gave us a lift but if they had won it wouldn’t have changed the situation,” Mancini said. “We wanted to win the game and it was important for us.”

City have a tricky run in – they host Birmingham and Manchester United, travel to Arsenal, host Aston Villa and Tottenham then finish up at another club battling the drop – West Ham.

“If we have the same concentration to improve our performance then we have a good chance but we must fight every game,” Mancini said.

The match was played in teeming rain which left the pitch sodden, particularly in the second half, making playing conditions difficult.

“The second half it was difficult to play football,” Mancini said.

“We tried to play but it was very difficult.”

Despite the large margin of victory, Mancini does not believe it was the best City has played since he’s been at the club.

“We’ve won an important game and we’ve played well but it wasn’t the best we’ve played,” he said.

Mancini also denied reports he was interested in managing Juventus.

“I never said those things,” he said. “My position is that I’m manager of City and I’m very happy to stay here. I want to be here next season.

“I was asked a question on Juventus but I never said that I wanted to go to Juventus. I didn’t say that, never. Manchester City is a special club.”