Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has rounded on those who have labelled the club “bottlers” and blamed high-profile team-mates Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez for hampering their title bid.
Earlier this season Man. City appeared well on course to end their 44-year-wait to be crowned champions of England once again.
But in the race for the Premier League title they now trail rivals Manchester United by five points with four games left.
Many pundits have claimed Man. City would have won the title by now had not Tevez, who recently returned to first-team action, spent several months in self-imposed exile after falling out with manager Roberto Mancini in September.
And several of the same observers have argued City’s talented but ill-disciplined Italian striker Balotelli has been a destabilising influence at Eastlands and a key reason why Mancini’s men have surrendered the league lead they held at the start of March, citing his red card in a recent defeat by Arsenal as proof of his immaturity.
But Lescott said: “I think it’s a bit harsh to solely lay the blame on Mario.
“He’s a young player and he’s going to make mistakes, and we all did at that age.
“Hopefully he is learning from them and when he plays he is going to give 100 per cent.”
Since losing to Arsenal, City have beaten West Brom and Norwich in convincing fashion, with Tevez scoring four goals.
Lescott added: “We’re not dwelling on the past. Who’s to say that if Carlos had stayed he would not have got injured and been out for the rest of the season?
“We’re just grateful now that he’s back and playing for City and scoring goals.”
Manchester United host Everton on Sunday while Manchester City travel to Wolves, with the two Manchester clubs then meeting in a derby at Eastlands on April 30.
As for suggestions, City might be ‘bottlers’, Lescott said: “Our mental state is fine.
“We had a bit of a run of consistency in the last few weeks but in the last two games we have shown that we are a good team and our strength in depth is there.
“We have proven we are a good squad.”