Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore says Manchester City must stand by manager Roberto Mancini.

Writing in the People, Collymore declared: "City do not want to be seen in the same light as Chelsea when it comes to managers. They want to show faith in Mancini and give him the chance to make up for things that do not go to plan.

"The way they are now financing the club is also more cautious, and director of football Txiki Begiristain will not be handing out huge war chests of transfer cash.

"So the City team as it is now will be the one that moves forward, possibly with one or two additions.

"And who is going to want to try to win things with someone else's squad? Certainly not Jose Mourinho.

"And there are not too many other men who would be capable of going straight in and doing so.

"I think City should, and will, stick with Mancini.

"He told the board at the start of the season he needed a bit more money to make sure they could compete with Manchester United again - and he was right.

"So give him the chance to bring in a couple more faces, and continue to build this team."