Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini reveals Mark Hughes snub was retaliation after game in November

EPL : Roberto Mancini , Mark Hughes , Fulham vs Manchester City (Getty Images)

Related Links

Teams

Players

By Greg Stobart at Eastlands

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says his snub to Mark Hughes was an act of revenge because the Fulham boss did the same to him in November.

Former City chief Hughes was visibly furious after his side’s 1-1 draw at Eastlands when Mancini refused to look him in the eye as they shook hands.

Mancini played down the spat after the game but revealed he felt Hughes did the same to him after City won 4-1 at Craven Cottage on November 21.

Hughes was at Eastlands for the first time since he was sacked by the club and replaced by Mancini in December 2009.

Mancini said: “I don’t know what he said. I heard he said something but I didn’t understand. There is no problem between us.

“It was like him in London. He did the same to me. He didn’t look in my face when we shook hands.”

When asked if that incident was in his mind when he was approached by the Welshman, Mancini added: “Yeah, probably.

“The result is more important for me. I think he should be happy with a draw against us.”

City were lacklustre throughout the game and Fulham earned a deserved point as Damien Duff’s striker two minutes after the break cancelled out Mario Balotelli’s 26th minute opener.

Mancini believes his side were lacking freshness due to a hectic fixture schedule and bemoaned the absence of key players through injury.

Nigel De Jong, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Adam Johnson were all unavailable and Mancini was unable to rotate his squad after Thursday night’s Europa League win over Aris Salonika.

“I’m disappointed with the result but I knew it was a possibility,” Mancini added. “This can happen when you play every three days.

“We were so tired and we couldn’t score. Our strikers didn’t move.

“It’s important that in the next days three or four players can recover to 100 per cent. Today was very difficult.

“If we don’t have motivation it’s a bigger problem. We’re in third position and in two cups, the motivation is very high.”