Former Manchester City favourite Gary Owen has said that chairman Sheikh Mansour should stick with manager Roberto Mancini no matter what.

The Italian has come under fire after a poor run of results that has seen Manchester United open up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

Rumours linking Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho with the Etihad Stadium are rife, but Owen believes that Mancini should be given more time.

"I would be disappointed if [Mancini] left at the end of the season," the 53-year-old told talkSPORT. "Managers are judged by results and Roberto will be the first to admit he's made mistakes, but it's the easy way out to just blame the manager all the time.

"He's an excellent manager and focused on making City a top class team, but it's all about winning trophies. That's what he wants and that's what the owners want."

Mancini replaced Mark Hughes at the helm in December 2009.