Roberto Mancini admitted Manchester City probably did not deserve to beat Blackpool on Sunday but was delighted his side were able to come through with the goods.
City were well-served by skipper Carlos Tevez, who netted two questionable goals, and David Silva who managed to put them 3-1 up before Blackpool's Gary Taylor-Fletcher gave his team some late hope in the match which ended 3-2.
Mancini said the mental application of City, who went outright second with the win, was a major factor for his team pushing to be a genuine title threat this season.
"We are continuing to change our mentality and it was an important result for us today," the Italian said.
"We worked hard in the first half and scored three goals in the second half which is not easy. Blackpool played very well.
"Strong teams win some games they probably do not deserve. It is impossible to always play well. But we did score three goals away from home.''
