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Mancini unleashes wrath on City's PR guru Vicky Kloss
12 May 2013 22:30
Following City’s distrastrous defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final, Roberto Mancini launched into a withering attack on club chiefs - ready a full transcript of the manager's comments here.
Cramped in a small side room at Wembley late on Saturday night, the Blues boss hit out at the Etihad Stadium press team, including chief communications officer Vicky Kloss – who was standing in the room – for refusing to rubbish reports Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini is set to take over.
MEN Sport’s Rob Dawson was there to witness it...
You said you don’t understand why the club haven’t stopped the reports?
Vicky, or the other people who work for the press, don’t stop this rubbish. You have written this for six months and in the last two weeks, it’s been too much. I don’t understand why. For football, I answer. For the press, you should talk to Vicky and the other people. If it’s true, it will be true. But for me, no. I’m happy to work for Manchester City. I’m happy with my job, about what we did in three years. I’m disappointed now because we lost this game.
Would you be happy to go to New York without knowing if you will keep your job?
No, I’m not happy. I’m not happy because the championship is very strong and the players need to recover. But if we need to go, I will go. We don’t have any problem. I work for the club.
Do you think the club should tell you if you have a future at City?
They don’t need to talk to me about the future. When you have a four-year contract, it’s true that every contract can be broken. But I don’t think they need to talk to me.
But it would be ridiculous to sack you, wouldn’t it?
In football, everything can happen. I was sacked after seven trophies with Inter.
There were the same reports at Inter, weren’t there?
Football is easy for the people who stay outside. It’s easy to talk on the outside. Now, we are talking about one situation, which for me is not true.
Why haven’t you asked anyone at City to stop these stories?
Because it’s not my job. I’m used to seeing these things in football.
These stories don’t help though, do they?
But I’m strong enough. I don’t need anyone to help me.
Were the players you signed last summer your players or did someone buy them for you?
We did a market in the last week. We didn’t have any other players. We chose these players because we didn’t move very quickly last year. We moved in the last week of August. We didn’t have these players in pre-season.
Did you sign those players because they were the only ones left?
The players that we took, I decided to take these players. But you need to move in February, March, April, May. August is difficult because you don’t have these players in pre-season.
Why did that happen?
Why? I don’t know why. Because the people that work for us didn’t do this well.
Does that include you?
We have a sporting director and a CEO. But now it’s in the past. We can do nothing. We didn’t win, we are disappointed and next year we start again.
Do you think City are a better club than Chelsea when it comes to sticking with a manager?
City, for me, is a serious club. The people that are in charge at Manchester City, like Khaldoon, are fantastic men. But this problem has come out because we didn’t stop all these things that you wrote for six months.
You said Vicky should stop these rumours but she can only do that if someone on the board tells her to?
Vicky is in charge, ask her. It’s difficult for me to say. I say to you one thing. When I worked for Inter Milan, for a month the newspapers wrote the same as you. I thought always, it’s not true, it’s not true, because we are winning. But after the Italian Cup final, I read a newspaper which is very close with Inter. One journalist wrote that Inter probably would sack me. In that moment I realised maybe it was true. I don’t know whether it’s true or not.
Do you get the same sense reading the English newspapers?
No, because it’s different. In Italy, sometimes, the newspapers are very close to the club.
But Inter sacked you and two years later they won the European Cup. They didn’t get the decision wrong, did they?
I built that team for four years. After two years, they won a Champions League.
With Sir Alex Ferguson retiring, is this an important time for City to have stability?
I don’t know. I can say what I think. For me, what you wrote for six months, in the last two weeks, it’s too much. Wait only one week and after, you will know if it’s true or not.
Arsene Wenger hasn’t won a trophy for eight years, David Moyes has never won a trophy. Why are you in this situation?
I don’t know. We need to work hard as a squad because when you start to win trophies, maybe you can think ‘we are the best team’. But it’s not true because you need to work harder and harder. If the people who work with us around the team are not strong enough for this job, they should improve. I’m strong. But together, I think we should improve.
Who are these people who aren’t stong enough?
The people, Vicky, the people that.. (cut off)
But you can’t blame Vicky?
I can’t stop the things that you write every day in the newspaper. For me, I don’t read the newspapers. But people say to me ‘are they sacking you?’ I don’t know if it’s true.
You say you don’t think it’s true but no-one has stopped it?
I think that you have written a lot of stupid things for six months. This is my opinion.
There are Spanish papers writing the same things?
Yes, also the Italian newspapers write what you write in England. This is normal, it’s your job. But, I repeat, I’m not a magician, I don’t know what can happen tomorrow, in one week or in two weeks.
Do you think a new manager will have to deal with the same things?
I don’t have any problem. I am very proud of my job in three years, very proud. We have always had support from the chairman, who I consider a top man. Tomorrow, anything can happen.
You’re still popular with the fans, do you think that will help you keep your job?
This is normal because we won. I don’t think there will ever be another manager who will win 6-1 at Old Trafford against Ferguson. I was the first manager who, after 30 years, took the banner from Old Trafford. We won one Premier League, we won one FA Cup, one Charity Shield. For this reason, I am very popular with the supporters. I love them, they love me. I am very happy for this. If I leave the club, I will be the first supporter of Manchester City in the future. Now, I can say nothing. I don’t know whether it’s true or not.
Would you be happy with your legacy if you did leave?
We can’t say this because I don’t think I will leave this squad. I think that we built a good team. This team need more players. We can’t think that in three years we built the best team in the world. You need time for this. We are not like United who did this for 50 years, or Milan or Barcelona. We need time to work. If for one year we don’t win, the work is not finished.
12 May 2013 22:30
Following City’s distrastrous defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final, Roberto Mancini launched into a withering attack on club chiefs - ready a full transcript of the manager's comments here.
Cramped in a small side room at Wembley late on Saturday night, the Blues boss hit out at the Etihad Stadium press team, including chief communications officer Vicky Kloss – who was standing in the room – for refusing to rubbish reports Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini is set to take over.
MEN Sport’s Rob Dawson was there to witness it...
You said you don’t understand why the club haven’t stopped the reports?
Vicky, or the other people who work for the press, don’t stop this rubbish. You have written this for six months and in the last two weeks, it’s been too much. I don’t understand why. For football, I answer. For the press, you should talk to Vicky and the other people. If it’s true, it will be true. But for me, no. I’m happy to work for Manchester City. I’m happy with my job, about what we did in three years. I’m disappointed now because we lost this game.
Would you be happy to go to New York without knowing if you will keep your job?
No, I’m not happy. I’m not happy because the championship is very strong and the players need to recover. But if we need to go, I will go. We don’t have any problem. I work for the club.
Do you think the club should tell you if you have a future at City?
They don’t need to talk to me about the future. When you have a four-year contract, it’s true that every contract can be broken. But I don’t think they need to talk to me.
But it would be ridiculous to sack you, wouldn’t it?
In football, everything can happen. I was sacked after seven trophies with Inter.
There were the same reports at Inter, weren’t there?
Football is easy for the people who stay outside. It’s easy to talk on the outside. Now, we are talking about one situation, which for me is not true.
Why haven’t you asked anyone at City to stop these stories?
Because it’s not my job. I’m used to seeing these things in football.
These stories don’t help though, do they?
But I’m strong enough. I don’t need anyone to help me.
Were the players you signed last summer your players or did someone buy them for you?
We did a market in the last week. We didn’t have any other players. We chose these players because we didn’t move very quickly last year. We moved in the last week of August. We didn’t have these players in pre-season.
Did you sign those players because they were the only ones left?
The players that we took, I decided to take these players. But you need to move in February, March, April, May. August is difficult because you don’t have these players in pre-season.
Why did that happen?
Why? I don’t know why. Because the people that work for us didn’t do this well.
Does that include you?
We have a sporting director and a CEO. But now it’s in the past. We can do nothing. We didn’t win, we are disappointed and next year we start again.
Do you think City are a better club than Chelsea when it comes to sticking with a manager?
City, for me, is a serious club. The people that are in charge at Manchester City, like Khaldoon, are fantastic men. But this problem has come out because we didn’t stop all these things that you wrote for six months.
You said Vicky should stop these rumours but she can only do that if someone on the board tells her to?
Vicky is in charge, ask her. It’s difficult for me to say. I say to you one thing. When I worked for Inter Milan, for a month the newspapers wrote the same as you. I thought always, it’s not true, it’s not true, because we are winning. But after the Italian Cup final, I read a newspaper which is very close with Inter. One journalist wrote that Inter probably would sack me. In that moment I realised maybe it was true. I don’t know whether it’s true or not.
Do you get the same sense reading the English newspapers?
No, because it’s different. In Italy, sometimes, the newspapers are very close to the club.
But Inter sacked you and two years later they won the European Cup. They didn’t get the decision wrong, did they?
I built that team for four years. After two years, they won a Champions League.
With Sir Alex Ferguson retiring, is this an important time for City to have stability?
I don’t know. I can say what I think. For me, what you wrote for six months, in the last two weeks, it’s too much. Wait only one week and after, you will know if it’s true or not.
Arsene Wenger hasn’t won a trophy for eight years, David Moyes has never won a trophy. Why are you in this situation?
I don’t know. We need to work hard as a squad because when you start to win trophies, maybe you can think ‘we are the best team’. But it’s not true because you need to work harder and harder. If the people who work with us around the team are not strong enough for this job, they should improve. I’m strong. But together, I think we should improve.
Who are these people who aren’t stong enough?
The people, Vicky, the people that.. (cut off)
But you can’t blame Vicky?
I can’t stop the things that you write every day in the newspaper. For me, I don’t read the newspapers. But people say to me ‘are they sacking you?’ I don’t know if it’s true.
You say you don’t think it’s true but no-one has stopped it?
I think that you have written a lot of stupid things for six months. This is my opinion.
There are Spanish papers writing the same things?
Yes, also the Italian newspapers write what you write in England. This is normal, it’s your job. But, I repeat, I’m not a magician, I don’t know what can happen tomorrow, in one week or in two weeks.
Do you think a new manager will have to deal with the same things?
I don’t have any problem. I am very proud of my job in three years, very proud. We have always had support from the chairman, who I consider a top man. Tomorrow, anything can happen.
You’re still popular with the fans, do you think that will help you keep your job?
This is normal because we won. I don’t think there will ever be another manager who will win 6-1 at Old Trafford against Ferguson. I was the first manager who, after 30 years, took the banner from Old Trafford. We won one Premier League, we won one FA Cup, one Charity Shield. For this reason, I am very popular with the supporters. I love them, they love me. I am very happy for this. If I leave the club, I will be the first supporter of Manchester City in the future. Now, I can say nothing. I don’t know whether it’s true or not.
Would you be happy with your legacy if you did leave?
We can’t say this because I don’t think I will leave this squad. I think that we built a good team. This team need more players. We can’t think that in three years we built the best team in the world. You need time for this. We are not like United who did this for 50 years, or Milan or Barcelona. We need time to work. If for one year we don’t win, the work is not finished.