Hart: I am still fighting for my place
Blues keeper says the 're-focus' after his axing from the team is still ongoing
Joe Hart feels he is still fighting for his place in the City team, despite reclaiming his spot from Costel Pantilimon.
The Blues keeper has revealed how he is still working hard to improve his game after being dropped for eight games earlier in the season following a series of high-profile clangers.
But Hart, who has been solid since getting his place back, says he does not dwell on the first serious setback of his career.
Asked if that experience had changed him, the England No.1 replied: “It’s tough to say because that’s probably one of the main reasons I’ve not really spoken about it.
“I don’t feel it’s a case of that side of things being really solved. I’m still training hard – as I would be whether I was in or out of the team – and I’m always working to improve my game.
“I don’t want it to seem as though everything is fine or that it was part of my life that I will forget because I’m still living it and I am trying to live in the moment more recently.
“The past is the past and we don’t know what lies ahead in the future so it’s better to live day by day. We are going to get some wonderful opportunities at this club – some I will be playing in, some that I won’t – and I’m just trying to look at things the best I can.
“I try to keep things as neutral as possible. There was definitely a re-focus while I was out of the starting line-up and I quite enjoyed it as I tried to get back on track.”
David Silva: Manchester United have not got the best out of Juan Mata
They have shared two cities, a club and a World Cup winners' medal but David Silva believes that Manchester United have failed to get the best from Juan Mata.
Silva and Mata left Valencia for England within a year of each other. One has won a League championship, the other has lifted the European Cup. Their friendship is solid and Silva had welcomed Mata's move to Old Trafford which was supposed to have re-energised a slow, toothless midfield.
Instead, he has been as unable to find a consistent role under David Moyes as he had under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. It may have been coincidence but Mata was missing from the only compelling United performance since his arrival – the 3-0 win over Olympiakos.
"It is a difficult situation for him because the team is not playing that well," said Silva as he prepared to face Mata in Tuesday's Manchester derby. "They have not managed to bring out the best out in him but he is a very talented player and he will show it.
"He wasn't getting the minutes at Chelsea so it was a good move for him to go to United. I have been out to dinner with him and his family and we are friends. Anything he needs, he knows he can come to me for. Maybe after the game we can have a meal; it depends."
Whether Mata feels like entering a restaurant will depend on the result, and few in the red half of Manchester are optimistic. For years City carried out a guerilla war against Sir Alex Ferguson's great empire. They delighted in stories of how, after a 3-1 defeat at Maine Road, he threatened to let United's fans into the dressing room "so they can show you how they feel". They were rare triumphs and they had to be savoured. Now they will go to Old Trafford expecting to win.
Silva has become one of the club's leaders, though he does not look like one. He lacks the physical presence of a Patrick Vieira, or Roy Keane's wild stare. You cannot imagine him slamming his fist into a dressing-room door.
And yet last weekend the shy, wonderfully skilled boy from Gran Canaria drove his team over the line on a day when the Premier League title race changed complexion. Both City and Chelsea were away, both had a man sent off. Chelsea did not recover, but 10 minutes after the loss of Vincent Kompany at Hull, Silva unleashed a wonderful shot into the corner of Allan McGregor's net. Just before the end, he produced a balletic pass for Edin Dzeko to score the second.
"It was an extremely important win after an extremely difficult week [that had seen City eliminated from the FA Cup and the Champions' League]," said Silva. "If we had lost that one, we would probably have thrown away the Premier League."
Silva received a standing ovation in defeat at Barcelona, something a stadium very rarely grants an opponent in England. Vieira has compared him to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and it seems inevitable he will return to Spain.
"The standing ovations happened to me when we played Villarreal and Real Madrid," said Silva. "It is something that makes me very proud."
And he added: "I am flattered with the reports linking me to Barcelona, but it's just rumours. I am very used to rumours every summer." His ambition, he insisted, was simple: "To regain the Premier League and win the European Cup with City."
David Silva is an ambassador for Anfi Group, a luxury holiday company on the holiday island of Gran Canaria. For more information, visit: http://www.anfi.com
Legendary Manchester City boss Joe Mercer honoured by new Royal Mail stamp
The former City manager is among 10 'remarkable' people to feature on the new set of Royal Mail stamps
The lives of 10 ‘remarkable’ people whose centenaries of birth fall this year are celebrated in a new set of stamps - including City legend Joe Mercer.
The Royal Mail said it wanted to recognise the achievements of individuals ranging from Welsh poet Dylan Thomas to actors Sir Alec Guinness and Kenneth More.
The first class stamps, which go on sale on Tuesday, feature portraits of the 10 as well as details of what they had contributed to British society.
Joe Mercer, who played for Everton and Arsenal, managed Manchester City between 1961 and 1975.
He later became the England caretaker manager.
During this time at City he led to the team to the 1967-68 First Division championship, the 1969 FA Cup, 1970 League Cup and 1970 European Cup Winners Cup.
Others featured are economist Barbara Ward, special operations executive agent Noorunissa Inayat Khan, Nobel laureate Max Perutz, broadcaster Roy Plomley, writer Joan Littlewood and graphic designer Abram Games.
Andrew Hammond, Royal Mail's director of stamps and collectibles, said: "The Remarkable Lives stamp issue creates a great sense of history, and captures both the achievement and endeavour of these exceptional people."
Man Utd Carvalho deal could be hijacked by rivals City
Portuguese midfielder's move to Old Trafford may not be a done deal after all
DEPENDING on which paper you read, highly-rated Portuguese midfielder William Carvalho is either on his way to Manchester United in the summer or facing an uncertain future as the Red Devils slug it out with their neighbours Manchester City for his signature.
The Daily Mirror claims that the Angolan-born 21-year-old is poised to become Manchester United's first big summer signing after his management team had a tour of the club's facilities last week. So impressed were the Sporting Lisbon player's representatives, says the paper, that Carvalho will sign for United before the World Cup finals in Brazil. The Mirror adds that Carvalho, who plays his representative football for Portugal, will be the first of five purchases in the coming months as David Moyes looks to rebuild his Old Trafford empire ahead of next season.
But before United fans start getting Carvalho's name printed on the back of their replica shirts they might want to have a gander in the Daily Star. It claims that Manchester City are "trying to hijack" the United deal and will pull out all the stops to sign the youngster.
Apparently United have tabled a bid in the region of £37m but the Star reckons the Sky Blues will up that offer in an attempt to sway Sporting Lisbon's decision. It's said that City boss Manuel Pellegrini is "hugely impressed" by the strapping Carvalho and wants him at the Etihad next season. What it may come down to in the end, says the Star, is whether United qualify for the Champions League: if they don't (and they won't) then Carvalho is expected to throw in his lot with City.
Manchester City star assesses title battle with Chelsea and Liverpool
Defender Pablo Zabaleta claims Manchester City can have no excuse if they do not reclaim the Premier League crown.
City have 10 games remaining and know their title destiny is in their own hands.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men climbed to third in the table by thrashing Fulham 5-0 on Saturday.
They still trail leaders Chelsea by six points but have three games in hand on the Londoners. They have also played two games fewer than second-placed Liverpool, whom they trail by two points.
The battle is tight but Zabaleta hopes City can pull through with a bit more to spare than when they famously clinched glory in the last minutes of the season two years ago.
Zabaleta said: “Hopefully, it won’t be the same as last time we won the title because it is going to be difficult.
“But as I have said before, we just need to keep focused on what we are doing now.
“We need to try to win every game but everything is in our hands.
“We don’t have an excuse now. We only have Premier League games and we have time to recover well between the games.
“We know it is going to be very tough until the end but we have a great team, we have belief enough to win this title.
“Everything depends on us. We just need to keep working hard and winning games.
“Hopefully we can celebrate something at the end of this season.”
City face a test of their credentials with two difficult away games in the coming week.
They travel to fallen champions and rivals Manchester United on Tuesday before heading to fellow challengers Arsenal next weekend.
United have failed to keep pace with the leaders this season but Zabaleta expects the derby to have lost none of its edge and is anticipating a difficult night at Old Trafford.
The Argentina international, 29, said: “It doesn’t matter, the situation of United. The game is special for both teams.
“We know how important it is to win the game for the players, the fans, the club.
“That is why we need to go there and try to win the game.
“We know Chelsea at the moment are on the top and even if we have got three games in hand we need to win there and see what happens next game.
“We have won at Old Trafford recently and hopefully we can do it again.
“But it is not just the United game. We need to win all of them.”
Police could wear protective GOGGLES at Manchester derby with dogs ready to sniff out flares at Old Trafford
Sniffer dogs will be deployed in a bid to detect flares being smuggled into the Manchester derby, while officers have the option of wearing protective goggles.
The moves by Greater Manchester Police follow the largely successful passing of September's game at the Etihad Stadium, which City romped 4-1.
On-duty officers along the segregation line between supporters will be offered goggles if required at Old Trafford.
There will be others who are handed cameras in order to gather evidence, while the force reiterate that any fan trying to enter the ground drunk will be refused.
The measures, particularly the use of cameras, were brought in following nasty scenes towards the end of United's away win courtesy of Robin van Persie in December 2010.
Rio Ferdinand was pelted with a coin which left him with a bloody head wound; Wayne Rooney had missiles hurled at him when taking corners.
Joe Hart prevented a much uglier flashpoint as he stopped a pitch invader confronting Ferdinand in the wake of Van Persie's 92nd minute clincher.
The shameful scenes were condemned by PFA chairman Gordon Taylor, who called for netting to be introduced into corners of stadiums. That hasn't been implemented, but police will stringently film key incidents during the fixture in order to catch potential culprits in the stands.
Manuel Pellegrini's side go into this week's clash as favourites for the first time in history as they bid to maintain their charge towards the Premier League title.
And GMP aren't expecting too many problems, despite the evening kick-off.
Chief Superintendent John O'Hare, match commander, said: 'We work closely with both Manchester United and Manchester City to ensure everyone attending this fixture can do so in a safe and enjoyable manner.
'We also listen to the views of supporters and always seek to get the balance right in terms of policing style.
'I know that the vast majority of supporters attend football matches in the spirit of the game and that it is a handful of individuals who let their clubs down - the policing operation on Tuesday will reflect this.
'It is a credit to both sets of supporters that incidents of criminality and anti-social behaviour have largely become the exception over recent derby matches and we want to ensure that continues.
'We are all proud of our football heritage here in Manchester and it is important that we work together to ensure the football on the pitch becomes the story and that the reputations of two great clubs and one amazing city remain intact.'
Manchester City should be miles clear at the top of the Premier League with the players they have
Failure to end up as champions will result in Manuel Pellegrini's first season at the Etihad Stadium being seen as a failure
This is the week which could make or break Manchester City's title hopes and Manuel Pellegrini is under pressure to ensure his first season is not judged as a failure.
City may have lifted the Capital One Cup earlier this month but anything other than first place in the Premier League is going to represent a massive disappointment, for the owners and the manager.
With away games against Manchester United and Arsenal in the next six days we will see how City respond when they are coming down on the final stretch and, of course, they have still got a major chance of winning the title.
They are hardly a team in the doldrums after thumping Fulham 5-0 on Saturday and if they play well nobody can touch them in the league.
If they win at Old Trafford and the Emirates I would say they will win the title, yet there is always that uncertainty and unpredictability with City.
When you look at the players they have got and the vast amounts of money they have spent, they should be home and hosed already. They should be miles clear at the top and there is no way we should be talking about Chelsea winning the title ahead of them.
For the last three years there has been an argument that they should have won it every season, but they have only had that dramatic finish against QPR in 2012 to show for it.
It was theirs to lose last season and they still ended up losing it, to an average Manchester United by nine points. If they had won it last year you would have said they would be absolute certainties to win it again but its not been straightforward.
A few months ago they were fighting on all four fronts but now they are out of the Champions League and FA Cup, leaving the title as their only other chance of success.
Pellegrini will be acutely aware that first is first and second is nowhere.
Liverpool may have taken away a bit of their thunder in recent weeks but right through the season City have been the team to watch, particularly at home. Yet it will mean nothing if they do not win the title.
Roberto Mancini was dismissed last year after missing out and there will inevitably be question marks against Pellegrini if he falls short. That is part and parcel of the job and he will know that.
If they go to Old Trafford and the Emirates and play their best there is no problem, they will win the games. But there have been doubts about them defensively all season, particularly down the left side.
I have lost count of the amount of times City have conceded a goal when Aleksandar Kolarov was 90 yards down the pitch. Pellegrini should have sorted that problem out earlier in the season but has left it, while Martin Demichelis really has not helped them either.
For a team of their quality they have been beaten too many times by too many average sides. Winning titles is not about playing well every week, it is about scrapping for wins when you are not playing well and I don’t think City have done that enough this season.
Pellegrini also looks to me like a man who is too worried about how the team is going to play, rather like Arsène Wenger at Arsenal. You look at Jose Mourinho, he is not interested in how the team plays, he just wants to win whatever the cost and the guys I played for were like that.
If Mourinho wins the title people will not be pointing out that every game he played the two centre-halves were stood on the 18-yard line.
Of course you want to provide entertainment for the supporters but Sir Alex Ferguson was the same, winning is the most important thing and worry about how you play later.
When Chelsea went to Old Trafford and the Emirates they were the most boring games you have ever seen but if Mourinho wins the title everyone will be saying he is a genius.
For City, the game against their city rivals United will be pivotal. David Moyes has obviously had some respite with two good results, and two clean sheets, and a decent result against City would damage Pellegrini’s hopes of closing the gap on Chelsea.
United will have a big crowd and that might be a disadvantage to Moyes because the supporters will want them to go for the throat. But if they play open City will batter them so I would not be surprised if Moyes attempts to hit them on the break.
City will not be scared of going to Arsenal either, because Wenger does not seem to have a plan B.
Six points from these two games and everyone will believe City can do it – if they fall short again, we’ll be talking about another hugely disappointing campaign.
For a club the size of City, with all their dreams and ambitions, simply winning the Capital One Cup is nowhere near good enough.
HALF-SCARF BOLLOX!
This nonsense really needs to stop. Anyone on here that buys one will be disowned as a City fan by me.
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[/spoiler]Michael Carrick: 'Manchester derby doesn't matter, damage already done'
Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has played down the importance of Tuesday's derby clash against Manchester City.
The Red Devils are struggling to finish in the top four given that they are 11 points adrift of the final Champions League spot.
In contrast, City are fighting for the Premier League title, with Liverpool and Chelsea currently standing in their way.
"I don't think [the derby] matters," ESPN quotes Carrick as saying. "It's just another game for us - a big game, but it's not going to repair any of the damage that's been done in recent months by us losing games.
"Beating City would help us in terms of keeping our run going. We understand the fans and the result they want and for us as players it's exactly the same, but we're still not getting carried away because of the season we've had."
United are currently seventh in their domestic campaign, but remain in contention for the Champions League as they prepare to face Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals next month
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[/spoiler]Former Chelsea winger Salomon Kalou, 28, has revealed he turned down the chance to join Arsenal from his current club Lille in the January transfer window. Daily Express
Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood wants to sign Red Bull Salzburg's Senegalese winger Sadio Mane, 21, but faces competition from Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle. Daily Mirror
Manchester United will be offered the chance to buy Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao for £10m this summer, having come close to signing the 26-year-old Portuguese last year. Daily Star
Inter Milan director Piero Ausilio has denied reports the Serie A club are set to sign Arsenal's 31-year-old France defender Bacary Sagna during the summer transfer window. Evening Standard
Bayern Munich have dropped out of the race to sign Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler. The 20-year-old Germany international is believed to be a key summer transfer target for Arsenal. Guardian
Neil Warnock is in line to take over from Billy Davies as manager of Nottingham Forest after Kuwaiti owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi held talks with the former Leeds United boss. Daily Telegraph
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is set to drop goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, 23, in favour of 28-year-old Lukasz Fabianski for the visit of Swansea City on Tuesday. Daily Star
Arsenal's 20-year-old midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain twice told referee Andre Marriner he had mistakenly sent off Kieran Gibbs, 24, in Saturday's 6-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea. Sun
Liverpool defender Glen Johnson, 29, believes his side's "exciting brand of football" makes them the neutrals' pick for this season's Premier League title. Times
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes says Potters striker Peter Crouch, 33, has the "international class" to make a return to the England squad. Sun
Hughes is also hopeful of convincing midfielder Stephen Ireland, 27, to extend his contract beyond the end of this season. Sky Sports
Manchester United manager David Moyes has hinted that striker Wayne Rooney, 28, will be his captain next season. DSSC
Midfielder Ross Barkley, 20, is mature enough for start for England in the World Cup in Brazil, says Everton boss Roberto Martinez. DSSC
Sporting Lisbon's 21-year-old midfielder William Carvalho is on the wish-list of several major European clubs, including Real Madrid and Manchester United. Bild
Juventus's 21-year-old midfielder Paul Pogba says he wants to concentrate on playing and not pay too much attention to growing speculation about him moving to French club Paris St-Germain. Tuttosport
Atletico Madrid striker David Villa, 32, says he would consider a playing future in the United States. AS
England captain Steven Gerrard, 33, is leaving his wife Alex and three daughters at home during the World Cup in Brazil because he does not want any distractions, despite boss Roy Hodgson allowing partners to accompany the squad. Daily Mirror
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