Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini baffled by Samir Nasri's inconsistency

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini admits Samir Nasri's inconsistency makes him wish he could 'punch' the Frenchman.

Mentality

Mancini is right in his assessment, with too many of City's players having allowed their standards to dip in 2012/13. An inability to repeat their heroics from last season has left the defending champions 15 points adrift of arch-rivals Manchester United in the Premier League title race, and Mancini admits that is 'too much'. With City set to face United in their next league outing, Mancini added: "We can't think we are 15 points behind because for me, the gap is not correct. Fifteen points is too much. I think it is six or seven, not 15. "We showed this in the first derby when we deserved to win and lost. You can play well, but if you don't score and concede, you lose. "They (United) have won a lot of games, difficult games, to stay on top and they deserve to win the title for this. "This is the mentality you have when you win everything for 20 years and you know if you don't play well it's important to win."