Manchester City consolidated their place in fourth spot on Wednesday night thanks to their bore-draw derby with United at Eastlands.

City's performance has drawn criticism for its lack of attacking invention, with only Carlos Tevez threatening the visitors' goal on a single occasion.

Yet, rather than roll along with a generally downbeat mood, Mancini is buoyant, insisting the Blues would have met their expectations if the campaign reached its conclusion immediately.

"If the Premier League finished tomorrow, I am happy," said the Italian.

"Our target is to get to the Champions League.

"But the season is very long. It is important for us to stay near the top and we can change our target."

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Mancini confirmed he intends to make a number of changes to his starting line-up at the weekend, with Adam Johnson amongst those tipped for a recall as City look to maintain their winning momentum.

"We are going to change some players," he said.

"If we play a Europa League game it is usual for us to change six or seven because it is impossible to be a fantastic team when you are playing every three days."

Meanwhile, the City boss is leaving his options open about potential transfers during the January window.

It has been suggested chief executive Garry Cook has gone to Abu Dhabi with a list of targets, although Mancini has played down such talk, with club officials insisting it is merely a board meeting scheduled for the same weekend as the Formula One finale at their new track.

"Anything can happen in January," he said.

"If some players want to leave because they want to play somewhere else then it is different. But at the moment there are no problems."