Mancini: New Manchester City players need time to jell

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said that his new signings need more time before they become fully integrated into his title-winning squad.

City has started the season lacking the kind of form that saw the club win last season's Premier League title, dropping six points in their first five games. Mancini said that the late arrival of most of his new signings was part of the problem. He also admitted that his side was getting more desperate to secure another win in this opening stage of the season after two consecutive draws and conceded that his team needed to improve to achieve that goal.

"We had new players only in the last two or three days of the market, and maybe these players don't know their teammates well and need time," Mancini told the Daily Mirror. "The second year after winning a championship is always difficult, and I hope we start to win in our next league game, because we need a win. But we need to improve if we are to do that."

City is currently seventh in the league table and faces Aston Villa in the League Cup before travelling to Fulham for a league match over the weekend.