Sir Alex Ferguson: Mancini will keep Manchester City job

The Italian has presided over a torrid campaign in the Premier League and Champions League, but the rival Red Devils' boss believes talk of a summer exit is exaggerated.

Talk of Roberto Mancini leaving Manchester City this summer is just speculation, according to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Mancini has presided over a hugely disappointing campaign, with City finishing bottom of its Champions League group and currently trailing United by 15 points in the Premier League. These setbacks have sparked reports linking the Italian with a summer move to big spenders Monaco, but Ferguson remains confident his old opponent will still be in the City dugout next season.

“If a ­manager doesn’t win for a few games then he will hear all kinds of stuff,” Ferguson told reporters. “It goes with the territory, and Mancini will know that. I don’t think he’ll be worried about that. He knows what he’s capable of.

“I don’t see any reason why Mancini won’t be there again next year.”

City has been accused in some quarters of lacking the hunger to defend their Premier League title, and Ferguson admits the pain of last season's failure is driving his team on to new heights.

“It’s hard to retain the title,” he added. “We were disappointed last year because of the way we lost it. So we’ve had that focus.

“The concentration, the team spirit, has been brilliant. So these are all advantages. We had the advantage of trying to recover from the disappointment of last season.

“We have 26 players and you can only manage them if the players themselves buy into it. They have to understand changes have to be made. That is why we’ve been successful.”