Intense training and open mind among keys to Mancini's success

London Roberto Mancini, aka Bobby Manc to those City supporters already hypnotised by his impact, has taken less than a month to transform the club from the Premier League's most expensive underachievers into genuine title challengers. The former Inter Milan coach has made just one signing 33 year-old midfielder Patrick Vieira and been forced to do without a host of players due to injury or international commitments. Yet, after just four games, he has revitalised the club and banished any discord among the supporters over the dismissal of his predecessor, Mark Hughes.

Defending Mancini's mission statement, on day one, revolved around the key issue of ironing out the increasing flaws in City's defending. In the four games prior to Hughes' dismissal, City conceded ten goals. In Mancini's first four, goalkeeper Shay Given has let in only one. How has this happened? Intensive training sessions at Carrington, involving specific defensive coaching in the afternoons, have enabled Mancini to drill home his demand for rigid defending. The defence and midfield are told to operate in banks of four, no more than ten metres apart when City are defending.

Perfect timing

The conspiracy theorists have suggested that Hughes' dismissal was delayed to allow Mancini a soft landing. There could be an element of truth to those suspicions, with the Mancini talks commencing prior to Hughes' games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Bolton and Spurs. Yet City still failed to beat Hull City, Fulham and Burnley at Eastlands. Against similarly unfancied opponents, Mancini's City have racked up four comfortable victories. The complacency has gone and the simplicity of Mancini's 4-4-2 system has also brought stability to the team. Four games in, confidence is high, but bigger tests are yet to come.

Most managers, faced with the loss of a £40 million central defensive partnership and a £25 million forward to injury and international commitments, would happily get his excuses in before a ball had even been kicked. Yet being without Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott and Emmanuel Adebayor has worked in Mancini's favour. Toure and Lescott's form in the dying days of the Hughes era was so poor that either or both could justifiably have been dropped. Adebayor was also struggling to impress under Hughes. But with all three, and the injured £10 million left-back Wayne Bridge, unavailable, Mancini has been spared some big selection dilemmas.

Mancini has wiped the slate clean and given even the most unlikely players the chance to impress.

His open-minded approach has already produced eye-catching results, with Javier Garrido and Benjani being recalled from the wilderness to great effect, while the unheralded Belgian centre-half Dedryck Boyata excelled on his debut in the FA Cup win at Middlesbrough.