Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini pledges to win the Premier League for crying fan John Millington

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has pledged to win the Premier League title for the fan caught on camera crying last weekend.

Crying game: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says his side cannot afford to feel deflated after surrendering their lead in the Premier League

John Millington was pictured sobbing after City's 1-0 defeat to Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium and that sight has made Mancini determined to claim the club's first league title since 1968.

He said: "We want to win the title, to do history for the club.

"We are very disappointed for our supporters after Swansea and I saw on the TV one supporter was crying.

"We want to win for this guy, for all the other supporters. We want to change this."

Unlike Millington, Mancini has told his players they "can't cry" after surrendering the initiative in the Premier League title race.

City, who have led the table for most of the season, now trail Manchester United by a point with 10 games remaining after Sunday's defeat in Wales.

That loss came at the end of a bad week in which City were also beaten by the same scoreline in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie against Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.

Mancini wants his team to refocus quickly knowing that, with a game against United still to come, the title is still within their grasp.

The Italian said: "I think that in Portugal and against Swansea we did not play a very good game, we did not play like Manchester City usually play.

"We didn't deserve to lose both games but I think we need to play better.

"We can't cry, now is the time to be strong and keep going. We have a top team and we have time to recover.

"We can't cry because we are one point behind Manchester United.

"We have 10 games, our fortune is in our hands and we can change it if we want to.

"Like we lost points against Swansea, United can lose points against Wolverhampton. Every game will be difficult for both teams."

"I prefer to stay at the top and now we are behind, but it is important to be there at the end of the season. It doesn't change it for us.

"We are disappointed for the defeat against Swansea but now our focus should be about Sporting Lisbon."

City host the second leg against the Portuguese side on Thursday.

Mancini has so far given no indication, in words or selection, that he regards the Europa League as a distraction.

It has been suggested since the weekend he may now have to tailor his teams to prioritise the Premier League bid, but he insists he is still going all out for both trophies.

Mancini said: "We can't think negative at this moment.

"We are positive and we think we will win the Premier League and the Europa League.

"If we thought differently, it would be a mistake. It would be everything to win both competitions.

"We always play with the best team. Even when we change four or five players it is because we have played one game and then another after three days.

"Sometimes these players need to rest - it is impossible the same team can play every game. We have a team of 20 players.

"Tomorrow we want to win and we need to do our best if we want to beat Sporting."

City are hampered by defensive injuries for tomorrow.

Captain Vincent Kompany is unlikely to return from his calf problem before the trip to Stoke on March 24 and right-back Pablo Zabaleta is still out with a hamstring injury.

Joleon Lescott has a chance of making the bench as he recovers from a groin injury, but midfielder Gareth Barry has suffered further discomfort from a back problem and could be rested.

Barry appeared to show dissent when controversially substituted in the first half on Sunday, but Mancini says he has a fitness issue dating back to last month.

Mancini said: "Gareth has had a problem with his back for 20 days. He can't run well.

"When he went to the national team he had a problem.

"On Sunday he didn't play well but I think that is because he had a problem."

Another player who will not feature tomorrow, because he is not eligible, is striker Carlos Tevez.

But the Argentinian, who has been training for the past month after ending his dispute with the club, could be back in contention for next Wednesday's clash with Chelsea.

Mancini said: "We will see in the next week. It depends on Carlo.

"If Carlo is okay then probably, but it depends on a lot of things."

Manchester City's Mario Balotelli claims he has grown up at last

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli admits he made a “mistake” visiting a Liverpool strip club two days before last weekend’s win over Bolton, but still claims he has become a more mature personality during the course of this season.

Changed character: Mario Balotelli says he has 'grown up and certain things I've understood' since joining City

The indiscretions remain as frequent as the enigmatic brilliance where Balotelli is concerned as Manchester City pursue the Premier League title. He faces a £250,000 fine, equivalent to two weeks’ wages, for his latest misjudgement, but argued that his on-field performances prove he has grown up since his move to Manchester.

“This year I have scored 14 goals and the intensity and the effort that I am giving this year, also in training, cannot be compared to that of last year,” he said. “I have grown up and certain things I’ve understood.”

On the strip club visit, he added: “I didn’t do anything wrong at the club. But I understand that if she [girlfriend Raffaella Fico] had gone with her friends to a strip club, I would have been very angry. If you love a woman, you can avoid causing that pain. That was my first mistake. The second was to go two days before a game.”

Mancini tends to react to his striker’s behaviour with a paternal hand rather than an iron fist, and even suggested marriage could be the solution to Balotelli’s disciplinary problems.

The 21-year-old seems to be open to the suggestion, although his long-term girlfriend is not so sure.

“For me it’s not too soon,” Balotelli said. “When you find the right person, the timing could be right. Raffaella is the most beautiful thing that has happened to me. She gives me calmness.

“She is very understanding when I do something wrong. We have spoken about marriage a few times but that doesn’t mean that we will do it tomorrow.

“Once her work commitments allow her, she comes to Manchester. She is happy with me and I will follow her and play wherever.”

It seems that while Balotelli is performing on the pitch, his perpetual flaws endear him to his manager, team-mates and supporters rather than antagonise them.

That is not the case at international level, however, where Italian coach Cesare Prandelli has cast doubts on his participation in Euro 2012 because he “can’t trust him not to get sent off”.

The striker says he was upset at being left out of the Italy squad who lost to the United States last week. He is adamant the recent four-match ban he received for kicking Tottenham’s Scott Parker, and consequent omission from the Italy squad, was undeserved.

“I was hurt,” Balotelli said. “I always say it in the changing room that the most fascinating jersey for me is that of the national team because of what I feel when I represent my country. I often think of the European Championship.

“I am saddened to have missed the friendly in Genoa [against the United States]. There is an ethical code and I accept it, even though I don’t think I deserved it.”

Balotelli insists he did not intentionally stamp on Parker. He said: “Perhaps when you slow down the image, it might appear so but I didn’t touch him. I didn’t do anything wrong so I didn’t have to justify myself.

“I nevertheless sent Prandelli a message and I explained the situation. I always told him to be open with me and say where I’ve gone wrong. I guaranteed him that I am calm and that I’m training well. But I didn’t apologise because there is nothing to apologise for.”

However he is perceived beyond City, Balotelli’s goalscoring remains key to fending off the challenge of Manchester United and the striker is confident the title will be heading to the Etihad Stadium.

“We are a great group,” he said. “We have quality. If we remain together until the end, United will finish behind us and they are not to be feared.

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli faces £250,000 fine for strip-club visit

Mario Balotelli is set to be fined two weeks wages — in the region of £250,000 — after being pictured outside a Liverpool strip club in the early hours of Friday morning.

Booby trap: Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is set to forego two weeks wages after he was pictured outside a Liverpool lap-dancing club

The Italian striker, 21, scored in the 2-0 victory over Bolton which moved City five points clear at the top of the Premier League table about 36 hours after his trip to the lap-dancing venue.

But he played nonetheless because manager Roberto Mancini learned of the story only when he arrived at the Etihad Stadium before kick-off.

It is the latest in a string of Balotelli misdemeanours, but only hours after the picture was taken, Mancini was defending the striker after he was excluded from his national squad.

The pair will meet today and Mancini says Balotelli will be fined the maximum of two weeks’ wages if the story proves to be true.

He said: “Tomorrow I will speak with him because I am disappointed with him.

“It’s not right for me and the squad but it’s not correct because a professional player cannot stay out until 2am.

“I will speak with him and if it’s true we will do the maximum fine that we can.

“Mario played well. He had a lot of chances and maybe if he got more sleep he could have scored three or four goals.”

Carlos Tévez could make his first public appearance in a Manchester City shirt in almost five months next Tuesday following a 45-minute training ground outing for the club’s reserves on Monday.

Tévez, who returned from an unauthorised three-month break in Buenos Aires two weeks ago before apologising to the club for his behaviour this season, pulled on a Manchester City shirt for the first time since the Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich last September.

He played in the first half of the second-string defeat against Preston North End, behind closed doors at the Carrington training centre.

City’s first-team coach David Platt confirmed at the weekend that Tévez will play in a number of '11 versus 11’ games before being considered for a first-team recall, and the Argentine is being lined up to play against Bolton reserves in the Manchester Senior Cup at SportCity next week.

Should Tévez play in that game, it will be the first time he will have appeared in front of the club’s supporters since the night in Munich, when he angered manager Roberto Mancini and was ultimately found guilty of five counts of misconduct by the club for refusing to warm-up as a substitute.

Against Preston, Tévez was watched by City’s football administrator, Brian Marwood, and development executive Patrick Vieira as he played his first competitive football since mid-September.

The striker had one effort on goal during an uneventful appearance, but sources close to the player claim that Tévez enjoyed his outing and remains on course to be fit for a first-team recall in time for the trip to Swansea on March 11.

Mancini, who claimed Tévez would never play for City again following events in Munich, has admitted that Tévez will be considered for selection once he proves his fitness, but the Premier League game against Swansea is viewed as the earliest possible opportunity for a return to the squad.

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