Roberto Mancini defends Manchester City tactics, warning 'if players don't get it they don't belong in a top team' City's Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread after a chaotic encounter with Ajax in Amsterdam on Wednesday, which the Blues lost, despite taking the lead, amid recriminations over Mancini's formation. Maybe Micah doesn't know because it his first game for two and a half months. City must now win their final three games to stand any chance of reaching the knock-out stages. Mancini has described that as being a "miracle" scenario. However, he does not feel it is a time to just give up. "This is an important season for us," he said. If we allow one defeat to alter that we would be really weak. Strong teams can lose a game but it is important you understand the reasons, and what mistakes were made. You can learn from this and improve for the next game. Mancini confirmed Pablo Zabaleta would miss tomorrow evening's encounter with Swansea after suffering a hamstring injury during the international break. David Silva, Javi Garcia, Maicon and Jack Rodwell remain on the injured list.