Ahead of Manchester United’s 2-0 victory over Blackburn, Roberto Mancini claimed that we would draw the game. Micah Richards sat down to watch and with the score still at 0-0, he began to let himself believe we might drop points.

“At half-time and at 60 minutes I thought, ‘You never know’,” he said. “But United do always look like they will score. So I knew it was gonna come. But when they got it and went further clear of us, I actually wanted to cry and I haven’t done that or felt like that in years. Football is full of emotions. You get angry and happy but I have never wanted to cry before. This time I did as that is how much it means. I have been grafting so hard this season, we have played unbelievable football and to see United come like this is horrendous. It kills me. I care so much about how I play and how we do in games. If things go badly in a game, I just can’t sleep.”

With City throwing away a five point lead to now be an incredible eight points behind in just a matter of weeks, Richards has reflected on the differing mentality between the two clubs.

“Fergie…” said Richards, pausing. “He’s gotta be one of the best managers that I’ve come across because, if we had got beaten 6-1 that day, United would have been 20 points clear by now. We have a good mentality. We have shown that many times. But the way they came back from the 6-1 is phenomenal. That’s down to the manager.”