Kidd shocked at Mancini sacking; City clinches second

Caretaker Manchester City manager Brian Kidd said Roberto Mancini's sacking has rocked the club.

City overcame its FA Cup final defeat to Wigan Athletic by beating relegated Reading, 2-0, at Madejski Stadium on Tuesday night to guarantee it finished second in the Premier League.

Goals from Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko were enough for the host, which began life without Mancini with a win.

But Kidd, City's assistant manager, said the Italian's departure had been tough to take.

He said: "I got to be honest, if you were to ask me after what has gone in the last 48 hours, it has all come as a shock to the staff.

"I would have just taken the result tonight. If you had said before the game we would get three points to claim second place I would have accepted that the way the last 48 hours have gone. It is not about me.

"I have just come in and been asked to take the team for these two games.

"I am a Manchester lad and how can I say no? We are not greedy, but we don't have to qualify for the Champions League now and that is the least we should have done this season.

"All credit to the players. They have had to put up with a lot of stuff (since Wembley) and it would have been a travesty if we had not finished second. We appreciate the fans, they would have been so disappointed on Saturday, but we have come back for them tonight."

City fans sang Mancini's name after their hero had been sacked a year to the day since bringing the title to the Etihad Stadium.

And Kidd thanked the supporters for backing the players.

"I am really grateful to the fans for their support," he said.

"They must have been so disappointed at Wembley. But they really came out tonight and you could really hear them and I am really pleased for them.

"The backroom staff have been terrific, there has been a lot of support which has been really great for me and you could go through the whole team. Let's be honest, we have a terrific squad."

The Royals could still finish bottom after defeat, but they had goalkeeper Alex McCarthy in excellent form once again as they look to take some positives from what has been a disappointing season.

Coach Nigel Adkins said he was impressed with McCarthy's performances, but said he must improve some areas of his game.

"He made some excellent saves and he has demonstrated that now on a few times. We want to build and play from the back and one or two of his distribution choices weren't the greatest, but others were.

"We believe he can be a top four keeper and international level and if you can play out from the back he can do that.

"I'm sure there will lots of speculation, but we are in a good position in respect of the finances and there is good stability here."

(China Daily 05/16/2013 page22)