Former Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland has revealed he and his team-mates 'couldn't see a thing' in certain training sessions under Roberto Mancini.
It was under the Italian's command that the Blues ended their 35-year wait for a major title and eventually won their first Premier League crown. However, Ireland – who spent a single season under Mancini before he was sold to Aston Villa in 2010 – has lifted the lid on certain debatable habits and practices promoted during his four years in charge at the Etihad.
One such custom saw the Sampdoria legend regularly inform his players they'd be training twice in a day the morning of, which meant playing past dusk at times. Even if that meant having one's vision (and safety measures) pushed to the brink.
"I think he probably came to Man City a different person to what he is now. At Man City, he just wanted to start fights with everybody," said Ireland, speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes Fanzone. "I don't know if he wanted to show everyone who the boss was, or whether he wanted to leave an impression, managing in a new country, but he came in and just wanted to argue with everybody.
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"You'd say good morning to him and get absolutely nothing back. I really don't know what it was all about. We'd come in for training in the morning, and he'd tell us we're training again at three o'clock in the afternoon.
"That was the school run time, we weren't used to that, we had no floodlights at the training ground. He came in with this generator to power the lights but we couldn't see a thing. He was just constantly going against the grain, doing all of these crazy things."
It's not the first time Ireland has been candid regarding his fractious relationship with Mancini, who won three consecutive Serie A titles at Inter Milan prior to joining City in 2009. And while the former Republic of Ireland playmaker can't fault his former boss' tactical acumen, it's Mancini's man-management that Ireland felt was lacking.
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Having first moved to City from hometown club Cobh Ramblers in 2001, Ireland went from enjoying his football under Sven-Goran Eriksson to facing an identity crisis under barely 18 months later. The 36-year-old enjoyed his finest campaign under Mark Hughes in the 2008/09 campaign, setting career bests for appearances made (50 in all competitions) and goals scored (13).
That all changed under Mancini, under whom Ireland said he "just did not fit" and was "always fighting a losing battle." The Italian icon arrived at the Etihad in December 2009, and the following summer he sent Ireland to Birmingham in part-exchange for James Milner.
"Garry Cook was at Man City at the time, he believed in me and didn't want me to go, neither did the owners. But Mancini just wanted me out," added the retired midfielder. "No matter what I did on the pitch, I was always going to be forced out by him."
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Ireland never quite recaptured the same momentum he enjoyed in Manchester, quickly falling out with then-Villa boss Gerard Houllier before being loaned to Newcastle. He staged a minor comeback under Alex McLeish and was voted Villa Supporters' Player of the Season in 2011/12, then briefly impressed at Stoke before injuries took their toll, retiring at Bolton in 2018 having not played for the club.
While Ireland may not have clicked with Mancini or his means, as he himself notes, 'you can't really knock his CV'. There may even be method to the madness in getting his players to train without full use of their sight – though Pep Guardiola appears to have got along just fine with floodlights.
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