David Moyes urges his players on.
David Moyes' press conference for the TV stations yesterday was so austere it made your eyes water. He never did care much for the parade before the cameras but parts of it reveal a new scale of aversion:
TV reporter: "How did you feel about Everton fans [booing] you on Wednesday?"
Moyes: "I said on your cameras that Everton supporters gave their club a great backing."
TV: "But you would have liked to get three points?"
Moyes: "Correct, yes. That's right."
TV: "Can I ask how confident you are Robin van Persie will play this weekend?"
Moyes: "You can ask but I might not answer it."
TV: "So will he play?"
Moyes: "I said you can ask but I might not answer it."
These were the most extreme forms of brevity but it was hard work for the TV reporter. Moyes' predecessor, Sir Alex Ferguson, always marched up to the press room with bravado after a bad defeat. However, Moyes' taciturnity was that of a manager besieged by headline writers and fans - like the one who persuaded him to pose for a picture after the 1-0 defeat to Everton, before tweeting details of an alleged conversation in which Moyes was supposed to have criticised Everton fans.
He denied this, but some may say Moyes was naive to walk into that encounter.
Moyes, whose side are 12 points adrift of leaders Arsenal, is between a rock and a hard place: seeking to explain he is managing a club in transition which will mean taking blows, yet not pushing the honesty so far as to demotivate his players.
It didn't seem to help hugely that Rio Ferdinand decided to offer a detailed example of the difference between Moyes and Ferguson which flattered the latter.
"This manager's a bit different in that he doesn't name the team beforehand," Ferdinand said. "The old manager used to give you a kind of a little bit of an idea if you'd be playing and stuff. When you know you're playing, the intensity goes up a little bit more on match day and that's what you need. Its hard to do that mentally [if you have no idea] because you spend a lot of nervous energy thinking, 'Am I playing? or Am I not playing?' and you're just going round in circles and turning into a madman."
Moyes brushed this off: "I think sometimes a lot of managers leave it, so the press don't get the teams too early". But as he discussed the injury problems - Michael Carrick another three weeks away, how Robin Van Persie's groin will stand up to Newcastle United at Old Trafford last night - he seemed in a different universe to the other new Manchester manager.
Manuel Pellegrini's third-placed City side learned how to win away, at West Bromwich on Wednesday, though it is becoming clear the spectacular lack of information from Pellegrini press conferences is a product of his disinclination to say much, rather than suspicion of those who ask the questions.
As he finds himself contemplating top place, Pellegrini privately feels his players have adhered to his way of playing. He wants to risk attacking football rather than let the opposition dictate play.
His only dilemmas are when to bring back Joe Hart, City's best goalkeeper, from rehabilitation; and whether to re-introduce David Silva, City's most transformative player (in the manager's opinion) at Bayern Munich in midweek or against Arsenal next weekend.
- Independent
With three rounds to go, team remain in the hunt for grand final spot.