Roberto Mancini is not affected by Sir Alex Ferguson’s mind-games, insists Manchester City first-team coach David Platt.
City could only 1-1 draw away at Stoke at the weekend, in a match which they equalised through Yaya Toure but could not find a winner after going a goal down to a Peter Crouch wonder strike.
The disappointing result means that Manchester United can take a three point lead over their rivals with a home win over Fulham on Monday, after a week in which the 'mind-games' have begun between the two clubs.
Manchester City are 17/2 with William Hill to beat Sunderland 3-1 in their Premier League match on Saturday.
City executive Patrick Vieira suggested that bringing back former England midfielder Paul Scholes mid-way through the season showed "desperation", with Ferguson’s response that playing Carlos Tevez after his dispute with the club exhibited a greater desperation.
Platt, however, insisted that his words will not be significant in the title race, telling the Daily Mail: "I read it and when you look at the quotes, Sir Alex hasn't necessarily said that. It seems it was a bit tongue-in-cheek and there was a bit of fun there - I don't know.
"But Robbie just laughed, he just laughed. It's not a problem to him. It's not about him and it's not about Sir Alex. It's about the two teams alone and apart."
He went on to comment on Mancini’s experience, adding that: "He's fine. He's done it before and he wants to win.
"As regards the pressure on him, it's not about whether he handles the pressure so much as whether the players go out and get the results."
The City manager did not face the media after his side’s defeat at the Potters but the former England midfielder continued: "He didn’t come up to speak to you because he didn’t want to get involved in things that would detract from the fact we’ve got eight games left.”
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