Fulham captain Danny Murphy reckons Roberto Mancini could be mercilessly booted out of Manchester City – just like former boss Mark Hughes was.
Murphy, 33, has issued the stark warning to the Italian ahead of the Premier League clash between Fulham and mega-rich City at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Cottagers manager Hughes will come up against his old club for the first time since being shown the door 11 months ago and was replaced by former Inter Milan boss Mancini.
Despite bringing over £100million worth of talent to Eastlands since then Mancini has seen his City side, who have won just once in their last six games, struggle for consistency.
And Murphy thinks City’s treatment of his current boss Hughes is worth thinking about for Mancini.
He said: “I don’t think Mark Hughes was given a fair crack but I think it was inevitable. He wasn’t their man.
“He was already in charge when the new owners came in with all that money.
“As soon as there was a downturn there was talk about a change of manager.
“Well, who’s to say that won’t happen with Mancini now that he’s spent a lot of money?”
Experienced Murphy, who spent seven seasons trying to help Liverpool beat Manchester United and Arsenal to the title, also believes City’s huge influx of new players will pose problems.
He said: “The big problem for Mancini is keeping all those players happy.
“No matter how much money you put in, those players are going to want to be playing. You can’t keep that many egos happy.
“I’ve seen it all before. I don’t think City will be title contenders because it’s too many new players at once.
“They’ve got quality but it does take time.
“The transformation of that squad has been immense and I feel it’s going to be years before they are challenging.”
