Toure: Mancini needs time

(GSM) – Manchester City defender Kolo Toure has requested City’s owners to give boss Roberto Mancini more time as pressure grows on the recently-appointed Italian.

The former Interazionale coach was appointed in late December after the Eastlands hierarchy decided Mark Hughes was not the proper person to head their ambitious and expensive project.

After an initial honeymoon period, speculation regarding the manager’s future have increased following the club’s FA Cup exit and some indifferent Premier League form.

City’s hopes of claiming fourth place and a lucrative UEFA Champions League berth suffered a significant setback in the week when they were beaten 2-0 by Everton on home turf.

Mancini’s men now trail in-form Tottenham by five points, although they do have a game in hand over the North London club, which comes on Monday evening when Wigan arrive at Eastlands.

And centre-back Toure, who moved to the North West from Arsenal in the summer, insists the Italian needs to be given time to instil his ideas.

The Ivory Coast international told reporters: “We can’t keep changing manager. Every time it happens we have to adapt to a new way of thinking under a new manager.

“With Roberto we are starting to understand what he really wants.

“He knows how to win trophies, but it takes time and it cannot happen straight away. We need to adapt to his system.

“Mancini brings us experience and every time we play we feel strong, we have stability and that is important.

“We are happy with the job we are doing. We play as a team, we feel good and comfortable with the manager.”