Should Mancini be proud of his team, even if they fail to win the title?

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has revealed that he will be proud of his team even if they don’t claim the Premier League title.

City are now five points behind arch-rivals Manchester United in the race for the Premier League title.

Pride

Mancini told Sky Sports: “I can say that I am proud of what the players have done in this championship. We were on the top for a long time, we have fought with Manchester United until now and I think we have improved as a team in the Premier League.

“We also got 10 points in the Champions League which is normally enough to qualify. Maybe we made some mistakes in the Europa League, but I think we have improved a lot as a team.”

Early

Manchester City hit the ground running at the start of the season and looked unstoppable at one point. It looked like they would canter to the Premier League title. However, it seems their players have tired in the last few months and they have allowed rivals United to catch up and overtake them.

It’s almost a case of Manchester City falling at the last fence in the big race, to use a racing term. It now seems very unlikely that they will retake the lead in the Premier League title race. It looks to be a very disappointing end to the season for City fans and players.

Difficult

Manchester City have a very difficult task in claiming three points at resurgent Arsenal this weekend. If City fail to win it could almost be the last death nail in City’s title challenge. Arsenal have surged up the table and are in third behind the two Manchester clubs.

At the moment it would take a brave man to predict a Manchester City win at the Emirates on Sunday. Although City don’t seem to have a problem beating the big sides, it’s the midtable sides that the Citizens have slipped up against this season.

Future

Roberto Mancini may be proud of his team but I wonder whether City’s mega-rich owners will be satisfied with the team finishing second in the Premier League? I don’t know if they will. There has been lots of speculation about the future of Mancini in the British press.

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has been linked with the position. Mourinho’s situation in the Spanish capital seems a bit unclear at the moment. One week a Spanish newspaper is saying that he is unhappy, the next week he is going to sign a new contract.

Unlikely

I find it unlikely that the mercurial former-Chelsea boss will join the Citizens this summer. Mourinho has a great admiration for Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and his achievements at the club.

It’s believed that Mourinho has ambitions to manage the Red Devils one day and it would make it very difficult for him to manage United, if he had already managed their arch-rivals.

Progress

I have a feeling that Roberto Mancini will be given an opportunity to continue the clubs progression next season. The Citizens have made progression from last season there is no doubt. This season City have mounted a realistic title challenge this season, as expected.

Manchester City is stronger now than this time last season and I suppose that’s an achievement they should be proud of.

Even if they don’t win the Premier League title this season, I’m sure this season has prepared them for a much stronger challenge next season. I don’t think Manchester City’s owners will stop until the Citizens have claimed the Premier League crown.

Should Manchester City be proud of finishing second?