KUALA LUMPUR (AFP)
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said on Saturday that the
English Premier League champions could have news on new players
in the next fortnight.
Mancini -- who is believed to be exasperated at the slow progress
his club has made in luring coveted Arsenal captain Robin van
Persie -- said the team needed to bring in new players to
improve.
"We did well last year," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur where
the team will play a friendly against a team of selected
Malaysian players on Monday as part of their pre-season Asia
tour.
"This year will be harder because when you win... the problem is
(to) win again."
"For this reason I think that we need to improve our team with
maybe some new players... I'm sure that maybe in the next two
weeks we can do something about new players," he added.
Van Persie's future has been the focus of intense speculation
since he told Arsenal that he would not be renewing his contract
with them. Mancini did not comment on Van Persie Saturday but has
recently said he admires him.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday that the club has
not received any offers for the Dutchman.
Mancini said City was talking to some players.
"We are talking to some players, but the market is not easy. It's
difficult, and for this we need more time," he said, dodging
another question on whether he was frustrated with the slow place
of talks.
He also declined to say how many new players City wanted.
"I don't know at this moment. But we have a lot of players and I
don't think that we need 10 new players."
He also warned it would be a "big mistake" for City to become
complacent after their Premier League victory.
"We need to improve. We need to work hard... because we want to
stay on top for a long time," he said.
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, who has been handed a
new six-year contract, said for the new season "the most
important thing is that you start everything back from scratch".
"It's a new season, it's a new adventure... I guess the only
message that needs to be put out to the team is that if we want
to do it again, we'll have to work even harder," the Belgian
defender said.
Manchester City, who are visiting Malaysia for the first time,
won 2-0 in a friendly against Premier League rivals Arsenal in
Beijing on Friday.
Malaysia has hosted several top English Premier League clubs, who
are increasingly keen to nurture a fan base and help attract
sponsors in Asia.
Arsenal visited the Southeast Asian country before travelling to
China to meet Manchester City. Queens Park Rangers played two
friendlies in Malaysia earlier this month.
