Man City playing the long game to overhaul Man United

The end of a season makes everything feel very short term, as the fixtures run out and games take on an air of finality. Manchester City must be feeling it more than most as they take on Wolves today (Sunday), running out of games as they chase United. Every decision, every mistake is examined minutely, in a way that they wouldn't at the start of a campaign. The end game induces myopia.

City, though, have not stopped looking at the bigger picture. Missing out on the title this season would hurt but they are already planning on how to win it next time.

When the season ends the priority will be negotiations on a new contract for Roberto Mancini. His current deal has a year to run and there is no indication that the club are looking elsewhere. The team has demonstrated clear progress this season, developing from one capable of qualifying for the Champions League to one capable of challenging for the title.

The team has become more expansive and consistent. When things went wrong last month it was a big test of Mancini's ability. Would the team fall apart once United overtook them? Would it all get a bit messy?

City have responded by playing some of their best stuff and keeping themselves in with a chance. Mancini will address a board meeting at the end of the season to talk about the progress of the team and how the campaign went.

Yet while there is admiration for what Mancini has achieved, it is not unqualified. There is a feeling at the club that Mancini needs to change to prosper. His abrasive man management has not always worked and he left himself open to accusations of double standards by indulging Mario Balotelli but being strict with other players.

He has also been publicly critical of the club a little too often, whether it be of the medical department when a mistake was apparently made in treating Sergio Aguero's foot injury or of the hierarchy for failing to prevent photographers gaining access to the training pitch. It is hard to imagine Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger going public in such a way. City will want some indication from Mancini that he is prepared to adapt.

The other issue is transfers. Mancini simply wants the best possible players he can get but the club are trying to come into line with Uefa's Financial Fair Play rules. So you get the situation like last January when Mancini wanted Daniele De Rossi. To sign him would have been an excellent football decision but a lousy business one - his wage demands would have been huge - so City demurred.

This change in attitude is another thing Mancini must adapt to.

After spending big in the first years following the takeover, the squad has been elevated to Champions League quality. Now they are looking at fewer signings but the players they do bring in have to be of the highest quality.

The advent of FFP has accelerated this cooling of City's recruitment. This summer there will be as much, if not more, emphasis on selling players. City need to reduce numbers and the wage bill in the first-team squad while also giving Mancini the best tools to win the title next season.

The focus will be on the strikers. There are six front line forwards on the payroll: Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz. Of that group, the only one City really want to keep is Aguero.

Dzeko has not delivered in the way that had been anticipated while the club are fed up with Balotelli, who has not made good on his promise and has frustrated with his lack of professionalism. Both can go for the right fee.

Adebayor will generate plenty of interest after his excellent season at Tottenham and City are hopeful of selling Santa Cruz in Spain, where he has been on loan with Real Betis. Harder will be finding someone to meet their valuation of Tevez (and meet his wage demands). With players like Edinson Cavani of Napoli and Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente around, there are plenty of options for City if they do sell.

The other big change this season has been the ramping up of youth recruitment at the club. City have been implementing a strategy to make themselves competitive with United, Arsenal and Chelsea in this area.

Research shows that these clubs have spent in the region of pounds 5?million a season on bringing young players to their academies and City have given themselves a competitive budget.

Youth recruitment is a fraught area, highly competitive and poorly regulated. City have been cautious about getting ripped off, especially as the best players at 16 do not always develop as planned. In that context they have been doing impressive work, led by Gary Worthington, the specialist scout City signed from Chelsea.

They have done 15 deals over the last year and all for less than Chelsea spent on signing one player in that 16 to 18 age bracket, the Brazilian Lucas Piazon.

The real coup has been the signing of Jose Angel Pozo from Real Madrid, one of the very best talents to emerge in Spain. The club are still waiting on international clearance to come through but the deal for the forward has effectively been done. It is a marker for how seriously City are being taken that they can persuade a player like Pozo that his future is in Manchester.

City are also excited about Marcos Lopes, a Portuguese youth team forward they have signed from Benfica. Sinan Bytyqi, a 17-year-old Austrian midfielder, also promises much.

The goal is to blend these elite recruits from abroad with the best players from the local area to deliver talent consistently to the first-team squad.

City are under no illusions that they are playing catch up. United and Arsenal have been doing this for the last 20 years and have experienced global networks of scouts. City, under the direction of Brian Marwood and Mike Rigg (who has left to become Director of Football at Queens Park Rangers), are becoming competitive though.

City are applying to become a category one academy under the new Elite Player Performance Plan, which will help further, as will the move to the new training facility in two years' time.

City are also planning to appoint a new chief executive. The position has been held by John MacBeath since Garry Cook left last year, but City are optimistic of finally appointing someone to the role, although they are in no rush to do so. Unless Everton do them a favour today, City will find it difficult to overtake United this season but they are already planning to do it next season and the season after that. They are not going away.