Sheikh Mansour will back Roberto Mancini to swing the axe through his Manchester City squad this summer. The Sun says Sheikh Mansour will have to take a massive hit on his transfer outlay now Mancini wants to swing the axe. But Mansour is set to back his man.

He is desperate to see him succeed, following the terrible fall-out over the club's premature sacking of former boss Mark Hughes last December.

Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak completely underestimated the backlash from the Welshman's departure, having publicly backed their man for the long term.

This time, even if Mancini misses out on fourth spot, they will want to be seen to be sticking by their manager. That is why they will be ready to back him with hard cash in the summer transfer market, with anything up to £150m at his disposal.

Mansour has already spent £250m on the squad.

While Mancini is happy to have discussions with the likes of football administrator Brian Marwood or chief executive Garry Cook, he wants the final say on all football matters.