Mills: Man City must show UCL progress
Former Manchester City player Danny Mills believes Roberto Mancini must lead the squad to a better Champions League finish if he is to keep his job.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
Entering the Champions League as Premier League winners, Manchester City are looking to do better in this edition of the tournament after being knocked out during the group stages last season. However, Mancini's squad did not get off to the best of starts, as they tasted defeat at the hands of Real Madrid on Match Day One.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Mills urged the City squad to improve their Champions League showing this season, or their manager would likely be axed at the end of the campaign.
"If Sergio Aguero hadn’t scored three minutes into injury-time (against QPR), the chances are Mancini would have been out of a job. That’s how it goes. He may not survive if they don’t win the Champions League. There’s pressure on him to win a trophy," he explained.
"He has to at least get to the semi-finals and show progression in the Champions League — and maybe finish in the top two in the league."
The former right-back believes that City owner Sheikh Mansour, like Chelsea's Roman Abramovich, greatly desires the honour of lifting the Champions League trophy.
"The Champions League is the holy grail, ask any Chelsea player. Would they swap a league title for the Champions League? Not a chance," Mills said.
"Everybody wants that Champions League winner’s medal round their neck. If you said to City fans you can finish second or third in the league and win the Champions League, they would snap your hand off."
Manchester City welcome Borussia Dortmund for their Champions League Group D fixture tonight [Wednesday].