Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is confident of the owners' continued backing.

Mancini does not feel the end-of-season judgement will be a harsh one, pointing out that, while City have spent huge sums in recent years, it has been done with the idea of building for the long-term rather than merely a quick fix.

"When I arrived here the owners told me they wanted to go in the Champions League and fight for the title in two or three years," he said. "After one year we finished third with Chelsea and won the FA Cup.

"In the second we have fought for the title until now. All the time, people say we have spent money. But it is only like the other teams. In the last seven or eight years, they have spent £400-£500million as well.

"We didn't buy Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Andres Iniesta.

"If we bought Messi, we should win. We would have a player who scored two goals in every game.

"But we bought young players who need to improve together."