Man City deny chief executive lied to fans

Confusion swirls around team's decision to replace coach Hughes with Mancini

MANCHESTER, England: Manchester City insisted on Tuesday they had not lied to their supporters over when they approached Roberto Mancini to become their new manager.

In a prepared statement at Monday's news conference to present Mancini as the replacement for the sacked Mark Hughes, City chief executive Garry Cook claimed the Italian had agreed to join the club on Friday, two days after a 3-0 defeat to Spurs.