Mancini To Te Sacked Within Days After City's Embarrassing FA Cup Final Defeat By Wigan

Defeated FA Cup final manager Roberto Mancini is to be sacked in the next two weeks — with Manuel Pellegrini of Malaga being lined up as his replacement.

The Manchester City manager’s fate was already decided prior to Saturday’s embarrassing Wembley defeat, when his expensively assembled squad lost to relegation-threatened Wigan 1-0, leaving them without a  major trophy this season.

Mancini’s three-and-a-half year tenure is coming to an end because he is deemed to have failed on the targets laid out for him this season; to reach the Champions League quarter-finals and win the Premier League again. Even if he had won the Cup, it was not enough.

Mancini cut a forlorn figure as he defended his record over three seasons, in which he won the club’s first trophy since 1976 and their first league title since 1968. 

Mancini did appeal to the club to quash the rumours surrounding his job, saying: ‘You continue to speak about this for six months, and also in the last two weeks too much, and I don’t know why the club didn’t stop this because I don’t think it was correct. I don’t think it’s true.

‘But I know football and anything can happen. If it’s true, we will see in the next two weeks. If it’s not true, you wrote a lot of stupid things for six months. 

If it’s true, I’m stupid because I didn’t understand nothing about this. But I am sure I work with serious people and I’m sure I did a good job, even if we lost this final. Two weeks, maybe one week. Next Sunday. The season will finish. I will know if it’s true or not.’

But just before his press conference, Mancini told ITV: 'If I say that it is rubbish then it is rubbish.'

City’s new director of football, Txiki Begiristain, has been assessing potential replacements and Pellegrini is in pole position to take over, although Chelsea interim manager Rafa Benitez has also been considered.

City failed to win a game in their Champions League group,  finishing bottom and collecting just three points, They are also 10 points behind champions Manchester United in the Premier League with two games to play.

Mancini added: ‘I work always 100 per cent serious, for this is very important, and after that there is someone who decides for me. I’m the manager and I’m sure we did a good job in these three years. And I have  a four-year contract.’

Though he spoke to club chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak before the game, Mancini has received no communication from the club on his fate. ‘You think the chairman told me before the game don’t worry?’ he said sarcastically when asked about their conversation.'