Fresh from expressing his displeasure of life this season under Mark Hughes, Martin Petrov - perhaps trying to advance contract negotiations - has praised the impact Roberto Mancini has made so far during his brief time at the club, particularly focusing on the tactical changes the Italian has introduced:

"Before the game against Stoke we did a lot of tactical work," he revealed. "We knew we could play better and we needed to work hard to achieve that.

"I think everyone now knows they must work on the pitch and knows exactly what the manager wants from them. I think because of that the team is getting better and better

"It is very clear what each individual must do under this manager and I think that’s normal, because he comes from Italy. Everyone knows what it is in Italy with the tactical stuff. It's good for the players, if you play with everyone helping each other that has to be good for the team. We know we have a very good squad with big players but if you don’t play like a team on the pitch then you can’t win."

It is not something new to hear praise for a new manager from within the squad - we also heard it about Mark Hughes when he took over, but there has been evidence from the three games Mancini has been in charge that there has been a real shift in the approach from the side - something that has brought immediate results in the short term at least.