Roberto Mancini has stated that bad luck, not bad form, has blighted the team's season over the last month, with injuries and suspensions taking their toll.

The Etihad Stadium outfit were eliminated from the FA Cup by rivals Manchester United, and have dropped points to the likes of Sunderland and West Brom recently.

Despite this, Mancini feels the slump is not down to a drop in performances from his players.

“I think we were very unlucky in the last 40 days, very, very unlucky with some situations on the pitch,” the City manager told Mirror Football.

“We were disappointed because we wanted to go to the final of the Carling Cup and we wanted to go through in the FA Cup.

“But it was a difficult situation against United because we played nearly 90 minutes with 10 players. In the second game against Liverpool, we tried everything and scored two goals at Anfield.

“December and January have been difficult months with injuries, Yaya Toure being away and having players banned. Now I hope we can go on and win in the Premier League.

“Our motivation should be that we are on the top and we want to stay there. If we want to do this, then we have to work hard in the next two months,” he concluded.

City are currently three points ahead of United at the Premier League summit.

By Gareth McKnight

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