Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany defiantly insists title-race nerves are not getting to his team-mates.
March proved a costly month for Roberto Mancini's men with a defeat at Swansea and frustrating draws against Stoke and Sunderland handing the initiative to rivals Manchester United.
City could, at least temporarily, have returned to the top of the table, but their failure to see off the Black Cats means United could move five points clear on Monday.
Feeling the strain:Mario Balotelli argues with captain Vincent Kompany over the taking of a free kick
The situation might even have been worse had City not at least produced a late rally to snatch a 3-3 draw against the Wearsiders with two goals in the closing five minutes.
Kompany said: 'It was not a good performance and we didn't do enough to win the game.
'It is not nerves - there is nobody in the team who has not been in this situation before in another league.'
'So, it wasn't nerves, we didn't do enough.'
City do still have to play United in an eagerly-anticipated derby on April 30 but, with just seven games remaining, they now need favours from other teams.
They will hope relegation-threatened Blackburn can provide one as they host the champions at Ewood Park tomorrow night.
Kompany will not give up hope even if he does not want to watch United himself.
The 25-year-old said: 'I don't really look at United's games with much interest.
'The reality is it is not in our hands anymore. For us to get back in the race for the title we need other teams to take points away from United and we (need to) finish the job when we play them at Eastlands.
'That is the reality of what is happening now. We will keep believing, definitely. It is just not as easy as it was before.'
City's frustration appeared evident when, before their late fightback, striker Mario Balotelli and defender Aleksandar Kolarov argued over who should take a free-kick.
Kompany had to push Balotelli away, but the Belgian wanted to downplay the incident.
He said: 'I think ultimately people will always comment and make the wrong opinions.
'It is a passion game, a high-tension game. Ultimately we just wanted to win and score goals. That is what it is all about.'
City were stunned when Sunderland took the lead with a tidy finish from Sebastian Larsson just after the half hour.
They replied with a Balotelli penalty after Edin Dzeko was controversially ruled to have been upended by Craig Gardner.
That incident had not been forgotten when, moments later, a row broke out between Dzeko and Phil Bardsley and Balotelli found himself in the unlikely role of peacemaker.
But Sunderland were unruffled and regained the lead on the stroke of half-time with a firm header from Nicklas Bendtner and Larsson slid in his second early in the second period.
It was not until the closing stages that City finally stirred as the otherwise mostly ineffective Balotelli cut in on the edge of the box to clip in a fine goal and Kolarov smashed in another seconds later.
Kompany said: 'It is a shame it came so late - we showed good stuff in the end.
'Ultimately we didn't get beat but I am sure every single person in the stadium will feel as if we are disappointed for this game.'
Feeling the strain: Roberto Mancini watched his side slip further behind in the title race
The influential Kompany was returning after a four-game absence with a calf injury and at least came through unscathed.
He said: 'For me, all that counts is for the team to win and we didn't do that. There is a feeling of wanting more.'
City have other injury problems to consider ahead of next week's trip to Arsenal with top scorer Sergio Aguero still out for an unspecified period with a mystery foot problem.
Mancini again refused to elaborate much on the nature of that injury yesterday, but did appear to confirm it had been exacerbated by a treatment spray.
There was also some confusion over the reason for midfielder Samir Nasri's absence against Sunderland, but the player did tweet before kick-off that he was out injured.
MARIO BALOTELLI IN BUST-UP WITH YAYA TOURE
ABOVE: Manchester City star Mario Balotelli's in a new storm I don’t like it when he plays like this. I don’t like anything because it is my opinion that a player with his quality can’t play like this Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini( 0 )
MARIO BALOTELLI is at the centre of another storm following a dressing room fight with Yaya Toure.
The pair came to blows after Manchester City’s title bid went into meltdown at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Tempers flared after the Blues snatched a dramatic late 3-3 draw with Sunderland, which left them two points behind leaders Manchester United.
Starsport can reveal the warring duo had to be pulled apart by Kolo Toure.
Balotelli is said to have taken exception to the midfielder’s criticism about his behaviour inthe game, which saw the Italian hothead involved in an embarrassing row with Aleksandar Kolarov over who was taking a second-half free-kick.
Balotelli scored twice to help rescue a point but his antics afterwards left Roberto Mancini seething.
The striker is facing a club fine of £160,000 but the latest incident could see £24m Balotelli sold.
Mancini admitted 24 hours before kick-off that he couldn’t trust the Italian any more and let rip after the game.
“Mario played like I said about him on Friday,” said Mancini.
Public want Manchester United to beat moneybags Manchester City to title claims leg end Robson
Manchester United icon Bryan Robson is convinced the neutrals are behind them in their title battle with Manchester City.
Robson believes that the footballing public would prefer the crown not to go to a club which has spent £400 million so far chasing it.
He told the Daily Star Sunday: “It’s great for the city to have such excitement in the final few games.
“If United were ten points clear at this stage and it was all over, then there wouldn’t be the same buzz.
“But I still think a lot of people in this country would prefer us to win the league rather than City, in the sense that people feel that it’s a sport and you can’t just buy success.
“People have put that tag on City because of the background of the club – even if they are a real threat now.”
OTHER BOLLOX
Gareth Bale, 22, has admitted he will struggle to reject the advances of Barcelona or Real Madrid should either come calling in the summer. Metro
Tottenham are lining up Ecuadorian Christian Ramirez - a stand-out in the Under-17 World Cup - for £1.5m when the attacking left-back turns 18 in August. Daily Mirror
Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill is ready to make a £2.5m bid for Aston Villa's 30-year-old defender Stephen Warnock, who is keen to leave the Midlands club. The Sun
Swansea are ready to offer Aston Villa's £5m-rated former Cardiff defender James Collins, 28, a controversial return to Wales. Daily Mirror
Scotland and Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor, 30, has emerged as a summer target for West Brom if they cannot strike a deal with Birmingham to keep Ben Foster. Express & Star
David Beckham has had a fierce bust-up with his LA Galaxy team-mates, having a shouting match with two of them while walking off at half-time in their game against New England. The Sun
Balotelli, meanwhile, is at the centre of a storm following a dressing-room fight with Yaya Toure as the pair came to blows. Daily Star
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cotterill is hoping for the all-clear to keep Garath McCleary by offering the winger an £8,000-a-week deal. Daily Mirror
Sir Alex Ferguson says David de Gea has finally "got a grip" of life at Manchester United after he was forced to drop the keeper earlier in the season. Guardian
Former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia has been placed in temporary charge of Bayer Leverkusen after Robin Dutt was sacked following a fifth consecutive loss. : Daily Mail
Football Association compliance officials will await data from betting monitors before deciding whether Preston North End players who allegedly leaked team selection information have a case to answer. Daily Telegraph
Stoke winger Jermaine Pennant took to Twitter to criticise manager Tony Pulis for playing him out of position in the 2-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Wigan. : Daily Mail
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has revealed that Senegal striker Papiss Cisse has been inspired by eating curried goat on Africa Day. Daily Mirror
Ronaldinho missed a sitter in Flamengo's win over Bangu, leading to TV stations slowing it down and showing it from all angles. : 101greatgoals [/i]
