Mancini: Lescott is important

England centre-half Lescott played a key role in City's Premier League title success last season, but has been dropped for some significant fixtures this term.

The 30-year-old was an unused substitute for the league matches on August 26 at Liverpool and on Saturday at Fulham, as well as the Blues' Champions League Group D opener against Real Madrid on September 18 at the Bernabeu, where summer signing Matija Nastasic was chosen ahead of him to partner captain Vincent Kompany in central defence in a 3-2 defeat.

It has made for an uncertain situation for the former Everton man, although he has vowed not to "rock the boat" over the matter.

And speaking ahead of City's next Champions League assignment - Wednesday's home clash with Borussia Dortmund - his manager Mancini emphasised that Lescott is still very much a part of his plans.

Asked if he had lost faith in Lescott, the Italian said: "He is one of the best defenders.

"But I have six or seven defenders and I made a different choice last week and in Madrid.

"Tomorrow I will decide again, but Joleon is an important player for us."

Clichy salutes Tevez's form

The Argentine striker went AWOL in 2011/12 after suffering a falling out with manager Roberto Mancini during a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, and his days at the Etihad Stadium appeared to be numbered.

Tevez was, however, drafted back into the fold as City claimed the Premier League title in dramatic circumstances and has made an impressive start to the defence of that crown, with his fitness and commitment no longer in question.

Clichy told The Sun: "He has been our best player so far this season. He's scored goals, worked really hard. He's just a great player.

"What happened in Munich, and after, is nothing to do with me. It was between him and the boss.

"It's all sorted now. Carlos in top form would be a great player for any team. Let's hope he can carry on scoring.

"The passion he has for the game, the way he presses defenders, lifts the team - we need a player like this, so well done Carlos.

"We want players w ho bring something extra and he does that. He can make a big difference for us this season."

Next up for Clichy, Tevez and City is a European date with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, with Mancini's men determined to progress from a tough group that also includes Real Madrid and Ajax and make amends for last season's Champions League disappointment.

Clichy added: "We've got four champions in our group, it's a really difficult group but we are the champions of England.

"You want to play against the best teams all the way through. It's a good way of challenging yourselves, finding out where we are.

"We feel we're progressing from last season. That was a tough group but this one is probably a bit harder. If we can play the way we know we can, everything is possible."

Dortmund chief attacks City project

Watzke is incensed that City are allowed to sign 350million stadium and shirt sponsorship deals with a company (Etihad) connected to their owners.

Such 'back-door' funding is anathema to Dortmund, who have strict financial controls and are 51% owned by the club's supporters.

The two clubs meet at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night with Watzke insisting that a big-spending owner like Sheik Mansour would not be welcome in Dortmund.

"UEFA must find the thin line between sponsorship and excessive back-door funding - they must show strength to expel big clubs,' said Watzke.

"No tycoon should be allowed to pump crazy money into a club with sponsorship from five companies he controls. If that happens, financial fair play will fail.

"I would not even welcome him. What if the sheikh, as shown by Malaga, lost interest?"

Toure issues City rallying call

City are looking to get their European season kickstarted against the German champions after being beaten 3-2 by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their Group D opener.

With Dortmund having begun with a 1-0 win over Ajax, the pressure is on the Blues to secure all three points this evening if they are to avoid a repeat of their maiden Champions League campaign last term, which ended in failure to qualify from another difficult group.

It is a reality that is in no way lost on the City squad according to Toure, who says the Blues are both determined and fully prepared to rise to the challenge tonight in front of an expectant Etihad Stadium crowd.

"It is a massive game for us," Toure said.

"We will need to work hard because we know Dortmund are a fantastic team.

"They are competitive, they defend together and they attack together.

"It will be a tough game. We know that and we are prepared for that.

"We need to get a good resu lt. We have a good squad and we need to deliver.

"We understand the position we are in after we lost in Madrid.

"We are now playing our first home game in the Champions League and we want to show our fans that we know we made mistakes in Madrid."

City boss Roberto Mancini believes preventable errors cost his team in Madrid, and he feels they must improve quickly to reach the knockout rounds.

The Italian is optimistic, though, that if the Blues manage to up their game and make it beyond the group stage, they can go all the way.

"Like we have improved (over the years) in the Premier League, we need time to improve in the Champions League, but we don't have a lot of time - only five more games," Mancini said.

"We need to not concede easy goals to drop points like we did against Real Madrid. If we want to go through, we need to improve very quickly."

Asked if he felt he was still learning about the competition on a personal level, Mancini said: "I don't need to learn."

He guided City to the Premier League title last season and won Serie A three times while in charge at Inter Milan but has never gone beyond the Champions League quarter-finals as a manager.

Mancini added: "The Champions League is a difficult competition, but football is the same. It doesn't change - it is still 11 players against 11.

"The problem is that you are always playing against the best team from another country and every game is difficult.

"I hope I can improve my record in the Champions League, and I think we have arrived at the time where we can win the Champions League."

Boss deal for slick City

The deal is part of a subtle change by the Premier League champions, who are aiming to substantially expand their commercial arm.

Hugo Boss UK managing director Bernd Hake said: "Hugo Boss has long been synonymous with sport and Manchester City shares our values of excellence, style and a passion for performance and perfection."

Mancini: Improve or fail

City, beaten 3-2 by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their Group D opener on September 18, are looking to get their European season kick-started on Wednesday when they take on German champions Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium.

With Dortmund having begun with a 1-0 win over Ajax, the pressure is on the Blues to secure all three points if they are to avoid a repeat of their maiden Champions League campaign last term, which ended in failure to qualify from another difficult group.

While acknowledging the club are relatively inexperienced at this level, Mancini accepts there is a considerable weight of expectation on big-spending City to make major strides on the European stage, and he has stressed the importance of his players swiftly cutting out the kind of mistakes he felt allowed Real to come from behind to snatch victory against them.

The Italian is optimistic, though, that if City do manage to up their game and make it beyond the group stag e, there is no reason why they cannot then go all the way.

"This is the second year for us in the Champions League and the second year that we got the worst group," Mancini said.

"Like we have improved (over the years) in the Premier League, we need time to improve in the Champions League, but we don't have a lot of time - only five more games, and we need to improve quickly.

"We need to not concede easy goals to drop points like we did against Real Madrid. If we want to go through, we need to improve very quickly." Asked if he felt he was still learning about Champions League football on a personal level, Mancini - who guided City to the Barclays Premier League title last season and won Serie A three times as Inter Milan boss but is yet to claim a trophy in Europe as a manager - said: "I don't need to learn.

"The Champions League is a difficult competition, but football is the same. It doesn't change - it is still 11 players against 11.

"T he problem is that you are always playing against the best team from another country and every game is difficult.

"I hope I can improve my record in the Champions League, and I think we have arrived at the time where we can win the Champions League."

City midfielder Jack Rodwell is fit for Wednesday's contest after missing two games with a groin problem, but full-backs Maicon (heel) and Micah Richards (ankle) are not yet ready to return to action, while centre-back Kolo Toure has not been registered for the competition.

It remains to be seen whether Joleon Lescott will be selected after he was dropped for the Real clash and once again did not feature in Saturday's 2-1 league win at Fulham.

The England centre-half played a key role in City's title success last season, but is now in a more uncertain situation.

He has vowed not to ''rock the boat'' over the matter, though, and Mancini emphasised that Lescott is still very much a part of his pl ans.

Asked if he had lost faith in Lescott, Mancini said: "He is one of the best defenders.

"But I have six or seven defenders and I made a different choice last week and in Madrid.

"Tomorrow I will decide again, but Joleon is an important player for us.'' Meanwhile, City striker Edin Dzeko, who scored in the Real game and netted the winner at Fulham, has dismissed any suggestion that he wants to leave the Blues.

"Every time I see a newspaper - for what seems like for a year or more - there is a story saying that I am leaving City or that I want to go," said Dzeko, quoted on mcfc.co.uk.

"I've nver said any of that so the stories don't come from me - I've always wanted to stay at City and fight for my place and my motto has always been 'never give up'.

"I hope the City fans, who have always been fantastic towards me, have seen I can score some important goals for the team and that's what I want to carry on doing."

Klopp chasing Eithad scalp

Klopp feels his team have taken valuable lessons from their experiences in the Champions League last season and has made it clear they are confident of gaining a result away to City.

Dortmund returned to the competition last term for the first time in eight years but had a disappointing time of it, finishing bottom of their group after suffering four defeats in their six games.

The German outfit are back again in 2012-13 after securing a second successive Bundesliga title under Klopp, who feels they are wiser for their experiences in Europe a year ago.

So far this time out they have made a positive start in Group D by beating Dutch league winners Ajax 1-0 at home, and while the 45-year-old is expecting Wednesday's assignment against English champions City to be a tough one, he is optimistic Dortmund can emerge from it with a positive result.

Asked if he felt his side were getting used to the Champions League, Klopp said: "We have taken a st ep forward and we have learned a lot from defeats in past Champions League campaigns.

"Tomorrow will be a different question. But at the end of the day, we have come here to get something out of the game.

"We are fully focused, we want to get a result tomorrow night and that is what we will be playing for."

As part of his preparations for this contest, Klopp last month watched City's 1-1 Barclays Premier League home draw with Arsenal, a team he believes plays in a similar way to his own.

The trouble the Gunners caused the hosts on that occasion has given Klopp plenty of encouragement, as has Dortmund's 1-0 Bundesliga victory last season at Bayern Munich, who defeated City - then in their maiden Champions League campaign - 2-0 at the Allianz Arena a year ago.

"We saw the City v Arsenal game, the 1-1 draw, and I think that was important," Klopp said.

"The way Arsenal play is not totally dissimilar to the way we play and City have quali ty players, but they have to adapt to that type of football.

"Also, if you look at Bayern, we won there and City lost. They have a suitable team for the Champions League, but we'll have to see what happens tomorrow."