City’s breathtaking start at Turf Moor last week swept aside the Premier League strugglers as the Blues surged to a remarkable 5-0 half-time lead on the way to an eventual 6-1 victory.
It meant that a Carlos Tevez-inspired City attack had walloped nine goals in two games - but manager Mancini was just as pleased with the defensive side of his prolific front men.
He smiled: “Can we keep up that standard? We hope so, but I don’t know if that will be possible! The first half on Saturday, we played very, very well.
“And if we want to be up at the top of the table, we must play with the same concentration, with the same attitude that we showed at Burnley.
If we want to beat Birmingham, we must work very hard, because they work very hard. They have a good manager, and they defend very well and play good football
Tevez has hit seven goals in six games on his way to a season’s-best haul of 26, but the non-stop harrying of the opposition by Carlos and Craig Bellamy is also key to success.
Roberto added: “We have a good attack but it is important for us that our strikers, when we’ve lost the ball, work for their team-mates and defend like midfielders. It is important for the team’s balance.
“Of course, scoring goals is the main thing, but one striker must work for the other team-mates, play short with the midfield. Carlos has a good technique, he’ll come back to get the ball and it is very difficult to mark him well.”
