London - In a series of fiery exchanges with the media, Roberto Mancini had struggled to explain in words that the pressure wasn't getting to him amid Manchester City's patchy form.
So on Friday, the manager resorted to humor.
The Italian turned up at his media briefing ahead of Saturday's match against Aston Villa wearing a mask of assistant manager David Platt.
"Do you prefer David or me?" Mancini joked.
Mancini sent Platt in his place for the last two media gatherings to fend off questions about City's ill-fated Champions League campaign and stuttering Premier League title defense.
The questions aren't going away — despite City being the only unbeaten team in the Premier League.
Man United, which leads City by two points, is at Norwich on Saturday.
Follow Sport24 on Twitter and Facebook
24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.
David Moyes
Jose Mourinho
Pep Guardiola
Jurgen Klopp
Ryan Giggs
View Results | Vote Archive
34% David Moyes
29% Jose Mourinho
14% Pep Guardiola
6% Jurgen Klopp
18% Ryan Giggs
Vote Archive
GEN De La Rey says the Stormers have had a pretty bad run when it comes to refs, assistant refs and TMO calls this season. He says such glaring ref errors have no place in the professional game.
Twitter Follow Sport24 on Twitter
Newsletters Sign up for Sport24's Morning Glory newsletter
Blogs Yes your opinion counts. Get it out there
WIN Enter and win with Sport24!
Mobile Sport24 on your mobile phone - WAP, alerts, downloads, services
BlackBerry Stay in the loop on your BlackBerry
iPhone Latest Sport24 news on your iPhone
Facebook "Like" Sport24's Facebook page
TV schedule Plan your couch time with our searchable sport TV guide
RSS Feeds Sport news delivered really simply.