Roberto Mancini critical of Manchester City press team

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has launched an attack on the club's communications team as speculation heightens over his future at the Etihad Stadium.

Mancini has been strongly linked with the sack in the past 24 hours, with outgoing Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini favourite to take his place as the City boss.

The Italian believes that the club's press team, headed by public relations chief Vicky Kloss, could have done more to shut down speculation in recent months.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "Vicky, or the other people who work for the press, don't stop this rubbish. You have written this for six months and in the last two weeks, it's been too much. I don't understand why.

"For football, I answer. For the press, you should talk to Vicky and the other people. If it's true, it will be true. But for me, no. I'm happy to work for Manchester City. I'm happy with my job, about what we did in three years. I'm disappointed now because we lost this game.

"Vicky is in charge, ask her. It's difficult for me to say. I say to you one thing. When I worked for Inter Milan, for a month the newspapers wrote the same as you. I thought always, it's not true, it's not true, because we are winning. But after the Italian Cup final, I read a newspaper which is very close with Inter. One journalist wrote that Inter probably would sack me. In that moment I realised maybe it was true. I don't know whether it's true or not."

Mancini's future was thrown into further doubt by Saturday's shock 1-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup final, with the Italian failing to win a trophy this season.