The Andy Gray Column: Steve Kean deserves credit for dealing with Blackburn Rovers abuse

Sharethematch.com ambassador Andy Gray was talking exclusively to Mancunian Matters…

The abuse that Steve Kean had to put up with earlier this season was just unacceptable, totally unacceptable and I’m delighted that things have picked up of late.

It’s great for him to be getting a few results, to be winning games again and picking up points.

But it isn’t finished yet, they’re not out of the woods, they’re not clear and away. They have got some space now and I think they just have to keep it going, they need a few more points.

I think the teams that are going to be down there are going to need around 36 points to be safe and they’ll have to try and get there.

He’s dealt with horrendous problems but it’s premature to call him manager of the year if he keeps them up.

He deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done; if he keeps his team up he deserves for battling through it all – the criticism and everything. But he will not be the manager of the year.

Up the other end of the league let’s get one thing straight, Roberto Mancini is far from wet behind the ears and if you ask me this battle for the title is going to go down to the wire.

The Italian has got bags of experience in dealing with life at the top of our league, and won titles in Serie A.

I actually think he’s handled this little spat between Patrick Vieira and Sir Alex Ferguson pretty well thus far it’s only been a bit of handbags anyway.

Mancini’s not going to fold under the pressure, but we don’t know about his players and in the next six or seven games we will find out whether they have what it takes to stay in the hunt and actually go on and win it.

Manchester United are favourites and rightly so at the moment, but I wouldn’t count Man City out of it. I thought City would win it from day one and I’m not going to change that view at the moment. I still think they’re capable of doing it.

Sergio Aguero’s injury was probably just a silly one, he was probably just messing about on the training ground with some of his mates and turned an ankle or did something silly that could have been avoided.

And that’s very frustrating when you get to this point of the season to lose your top man to something like that. But it gives Carlos Tevez another opportunity to get a bit more of a game, maybe a full half. When you’ve got Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli and Tevez and all these players, you should have enough to cope when you’re playing at home.

Andy Gray is an official ambassador for Sharethematch.com – Football’s Social Network. Available now for FREE online or at the App Store; http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/share-the-match/id450784289?mt=8