Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has welcomed his new defensive coach.

Mancini insists new coach Angelo Gregucci is not to blame for Manchester City's defensive woes - even though the Italian does not speak English.

Mancini told the Sunday Mirror: "We have a new coach, but we have the same players.

"We haven't had any time to work with defenders because we have played every three days. We only started to work with the defenders two days ago ­because with international breaks and injuries, we haven't had time to work with the same players for three days in a row."