Manuel Pellegrini, the Malaga coach, is expected to be appointed as the Italian's successor once the La Liga season is concluded on June 1.
City accelerated efforts to recruit the Chilean last week as a result of Barcelona’s growing interest in the former Villarreal manager.
However, despite claims on Sunday night that first-team coach Brian Kidd had been asked to take charge of City's final two games, it is understood that Mancini and his staff were in London, preparing for training at Loftus Road on Monday morning prior to the trip to the Madejski Stadium.
Having witnessed a humiliation in the FA Cup final against relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic at Wembley on Saturday, it is understood that the club’s Abu Dhabi hierarchy have now lost confidence in Mancini’s ability to take the team forward.
A board meeting at the club’s hotel on Saturday morning ended with no show of support for the former Inter Milan coach and, tellingly, no mandate for City’s communications department to quash speculation originating in Spain that a deal had been already agreed with Pellegrini.
Mancini’s position had been in doubt for weeks following his failure to meet his two pre-season targets of winning the Premier League and progressing from the Champions League group stage.
But his prospects appeared to nosedive two weeks ago when it emerged that City’s sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, had met Pellegrini’s agent, Jesus Martínez, in Madrid. Mancini admitted he had no idea about the reasons for the meeting and conceded that City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak had given no assurances over his future.
After the Wembley defeat, Mancini’s anger at being kept in the dark over his future was borne out with critical comments about the board’s handling of the speculation over his job. “I don’t know why the club hasn’t stopped this because it is not correct and I don’t think it is true,” Mancini said. “It is rubbish this speculation. I will still be here next season. It is rubbish, but I know football and know that everything can happen.
“But if it is true, we will know in the next two weeks. If it isn’t, this is stupid. If it is true, then I am stupid for not believing this. Maybe next Sunday, when the season is finished, we will know then.”
Mancini’s hopes of seeing out the remaining four years of his £7.5million-a-year contract are over, however, with the only issue now the timing of his dismissal.
Pablo Zabaleta, the Argentine defender who was sent off against Wigan at Wembley, hinted at the absence of support for Mancini within the dressing room by insisting that the manager’s future now lay in the hands of the Abu Dhabi hierarchy and chief executive Ferran Soriano.
“It’s not our decision,” Zabaleta said. “As players, we need to be focused on what we do now and we will see what appens with Roberto in the future.
“We have got two games left and we will see the chairman and sporting director and all the people who have to think about this. If they make some changes, I don’t know. We need to let them deal with this.”
As in previous seasons, City had been planning to resolve Mancini’s future with a post-season debriefing in Abu Dhabi. Mancini’s deteriorating relationship has also contributed to the club’s belief that a change is required. However, with doubts over Mancini’s position intensifying following the Cup final, a swift resolution to the situation is anticipated this week, possibly today.
Mancini appeared in no mood to resign, though, when asked about his position. “I don’t need to talk about my future,” Mancini said. “I have a four-year contract. Every contract can be broken, but I don’t think the board need to talk about me.
“I was sacked after seven trophies with Inter after we won three championships and we went to the cup final. But in this case I don’t think I should worry. But this is not for me, it’s for the club.”
Pellegrini last night denied any agreement was in place for him to take over at Manchester City.
"Regarding my future, I have not spoken to anyone. We will wait and see what happens at the end of the season," he said.
"At this moment in time I have no agreement in place not with Manchester City, not with Roma, not with Napoli, not with PSG, not with any of the clubs who have been mentioned."
Asked to explain what assurances he would need from Malaga to stay beyond this summer, he added: "It's too complicated to discuss in a post-match press conference."
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