Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini feels they have won new respect from Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson.
After Mancini took City to the brink of landing their first trophy for 35 years by masterminding the 1-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat of United at Wembley, the Italian believes Fergie has been forced to change his opinion.
Mancini said: "Sir Alex offered me his congratulations after the game at Wembley and that was very important and very kind.
"He now knows that we are a big club because he is a clever man. He understands football very well. He knows that Manchester City has changed a lot over the last year.
"I don't know what he has said about our club in the past, but if you want to arrive at the top there is only one way - and that is to work very hard.
"The only way you can change the mentality of a club is to win and that means working hard over a long period of time.
"It is impossible to bring a winning mentality to a club in one month or even six months. Of course, we need to work even more but we are getting better - and he knows that."
