Mancini says Tevez should leave City if he is unhappy

Manager admits it is better to sell players if they do not want to be at club after speculation grows over striker

Tevez has spoken out about Mancini's training methods (GETTY IMAGES)

Roberto Mancini yesterday insisted he will not tolerate unhappy players at Manchester City in response to questions over his striker Carlos Tevez.

There have been suggestions in some quarters that the Argentinian striker is unsettled in Manchester and is looking for a change of clubs should City fail to reach the Champions League for next term. If that is the case, then Mancini claims he would be content to see him go despite his fantastic season at Eastlands.

Tevez earns £150,000 per week but it seems that that may not be enough to keep him happy should City fail to finish in the top four. This weekend will go a long way to deciding their fate as tomorrow they play Aston Villa, who are another club aiming for fourth. Next Wednesday, City face Tottenham Hotspur, who are also in the hunt and, with such crucial games coming, the last thing Mancini needs is to be dealing with unhappy players. "If a top player is not happy to stay here then it's better to go to another team," Mancini said.

"I think this is not just the case for Tevez but for all players. This is the same for Tevez, for Manu [Emmanuel Adebayor], for me, for all. It's important that when a manager or player works in a team, he must be happy to work in this team. It's not good for the club, for the squad, for the player if he is not."

Tevez has also been critical of Mancini's training regime, with occasional double sessions, but the manager gave his opinion short shrift yesterday. "We trained twice in the same day only four times in five months," Mancini said. Two of those times Carlos was in Argentina; one time he didn't train. I don't know why [he's unhappy]. When we don't have a midweek game I always train two times on Tuesday because it's the only way I know."