Kenny Dalglish feels that Roberto Mancini has paid the price for Manchester City's stagnation this season.
The Italian was sacked as City boss last week week after failing to land any silverware this season.
City lost their Premier League title to local rivals Manchester United and missed out on the FA Cup after defeat to Wigan Athletic in the final, and Dalglish thinks that the club's owners were right to hold Mancini responsible.
"[Mancini] didn't move the club forward and for too much of this season it has seemed that the momentum they achieved in the previous two years had been lost," Dalglish wrote in his Daily Mirror column.
"It was disappointing that the Blues did not build on winning the Premier League title last season and Mancini must bear some of the responsibility for that.
"He complained about the failure to sign Robin Van Persie but once they missed out on him, they should have moved quickly on to someone else. He wasn't the only decent player on the market last summer and City aren't exactly short of cash."
Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini has been installed as the bookies' favourite to replace Mancini at the Etihad Stadium.
Paul Gorst
