Manchester: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini would like to stay at the club he has taken to the top of the Premier League for another three or four years, he said on Monday.
The Italian, whose contract runs until 2013, led the club to their first major silverware in 35 years in the FA Cup last season and this weekend saw his team overtake Manchester United at the top of the league.
"I started to work here two years ago, I have worked hard to build a good team," Mancini told a news conference ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Group A game at home to Villarreal.
"I would like to stay here another three or four years because I think at this moment Manchester City is one of the best clubs in the world."
Since owner Sheikh Mansour took over three years ago, City have spent more than 600 million pounds ($948 million) building a team with Mancini bringing in the likes of Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Edin Dzeko.
The Italian said he had yet to talk to the club about a new contract but if he were to extend it he would provide them with the stability that was absent before his arrival, when they had three different managers in three years.
While City have become a force to be reckoned with domestically, their debut season in the Champions League is proving much rockier even if Mancini still thinks they can win the group.
BLACK CLOUD
With just one point from their opening two games, City are third behind Bayern Munich and Napoli in the table and know only a win will do against bottom club Villarreal.
City have won admirers for their free-scoring ways in the Premier League, having netted 27 goals in eight games, but Mancini is prepared to let style go out of the window against the Spanish team in the quest for victory.
"It is not important if we play well or not well, it is important we win this game," he said. "If we win I think we can also win the group - it's possible, we have a chance.
"Villarreal are a good team, they are used to playing in the Champions League for many years."
City's last Champions League outing at Bayern is remembered not for their 2-0 defeat but for the debacle surrounding Carlos Tevez's alleged refusal to come on as a second-half substitute.
The Argentina striker, who has served a two-week club suspension and faces disciplinary action after an internal investigation, denies Mancini's accusation that he refused to play.
Tevez said he was asked to warm up but felt he had already done so enough.
The issue has been a black cloud hovering above otherwise sunny days for the club, and one they have avoided discussing publicly as the matter has repeatedly been declared off limits in Mancini's news conferences.
Even the manager saw the funny side, though, when one reporter referred to the story that overtook events in Munich.
"What story?" he grinned.
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