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Manchester City are fighting on two fronts in the middle of a momentous week for their season. Manuel Pellegrinis men continue their top-four push with a vital trip to Southampton on Super Sunday, and just three days later, they are at the Bernabeu for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid. Missed chance for City? Was Manchester Citys 0-0 draw with Real Madrid a missed opportunity? It is a quick turnaround in a pivotal period for City, and Pellegrini addressed the issue after Tuesdays first leg ended in a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium - pointing out that Madrid have a kinder schedule as they travel to Real Sociedad on Saturday. Before we go to Madrid, we must continue here in the Premier League against a difficult team in Southampton with three very important points, he said wearily. Unfortunately for us, we are going to have one day less resting than Real Madrid, who play on Saturday. With Manchester United hoping to make up ground in fifth place and Arsenal also vying to finish as high up the table as possible, City can ill afford to drop points on the south coast, where they face an in-form Saints side who have won four of their last six games.So how have City coped after midweek Champions League fixtures this season? Well, with five wins, three draws and two losses, their record is mixed. City suffered defeats to West Ham and Manchester United immediately after clashes with Juventus and Dynamo Kiev, and there were also disappointing draws with United and Aston Villa after their group-stage meetings with Sevilla. Citys record after Champions League fixtures - 2015/16 P W D L GF GA Win % 10 5 3 2 18 8 50% On a more encouraging note for City, they claimed emphatic wins over Newcastle and Chelsea directly after facing Borussia Monchengladbach and Paris Saint-Germain, and they also beat Sundays opponents Southampton 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium just three days after an away game against Juventus in November. City eased to a 3-0 win over Chelsea after beating Paris Saint-Germain in April Pellegrini faces important decisions on his team selection as he eyes a repeat of those results on Sunday. Does he stick with his strongest side to give them the best possible chance of beating Southampton? Or does he rotate to keep things fresh between Citys meetings with Madrid?Recent history suggests he is likely to tweak his line-up. City have made a minimum of three changes in eight of the 10 games that have directly followed their Champions League fixtures this season. Pellegrini will have to decide whether to rest the likes of Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero, while he is also expected to be without David Silva, who suffered an injury on Tuesday night. Citys results after Champions League fixtures - 2015/16 Opposition Result No. of changes West Ham (h) 1-2 L 4 Newcastle (h) 6-1 W 3 Man Utd (a) 0-0 D 3 Aston Villa (a) 0-0 D 1 Southampton (h) 3-1 W 4 Swansea (h) 2-1 W 3 Liverpool (n) 1-1* D 1 Man Utd (h) 0-1 L 4 West Brom (h) 2-1 W 5 Chelsea (a) 3-0 W 4 Its a conundrum for Pellegrini and a big challenge for City. Striking the right balance will be crucial if they are to continue fighting on two fronts.Watch Southampton v Manchester City live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 4.15pm on Super Sunday Also See: Missed chance for Man City? Man City: cheerful or fearful? Cheap Babe Ruth Jersey . 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Getting ready for dinner http://t.co/NNIfKyZQzx — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 23, 2014 Almost 930..Football agent Scott McGarvey speaks to Sky Sports News HQ about the Daily Telegraph sting, Sam Allardyces departure as England manager and the desire to clear his name. McGarvey introduced Allardyce to undercover reporters he believed were businessmen representing a firm of investors earlier this year.One video on The Daily Telegraph website allegedly showed Allardyce rebuking McGarvey for suggesting giving players a few grand to help recruit fellow players to a management firm. Allardyce left his role as England manager after just 67 days over allegations he discussed how to circumvent the Football Associations rules on player transfers while speaking to undercover reporters. Allardyce spoke to the media at his home in Bolton on September 28 after leaving his post as England manager McGarvey played for Manchester United in the early 1980s and also counts Portsmouth, Carlisle United, Grimsby Town, Bristol City and Oldham Athletic among his former clubs. He also represented Scotland Under-21s.The 53-year-old discussed recent events with Sky Sports News HQ reporter Kaveh Solhekol...Q. How did you get involved in this?A. I got a phone call in late June asking if Id be interested in talking to this Meiren Sports Group, which I said I would. We arranged to meet on 1st July. Allardyce left his role as England manager following the Daily Telegraphs sting Q. What did they say to you? What did they want you to do?A. The first meeting was about how they wanted to build an agency. They had lots of money. They wanted to put money into football. How could they go about it? Could I help them?Q. Did you have any suspicions at all?A. No, not at all. It was just a one-off meeting as far as I was concerned in the beginning.Q. How did Sam Allardyce become involved?A. I mentioned a few managers and I mentioned Sam at the beginning. They were not interested in football; they were interested in motivational speaking with managers, nothing to do with football. They asked me about the agency, how I could build it up. I said I could do this and I could do that, I could build it up, I could bring people in. Would I buy an agency? I wouldnt unless you buy the right agency. They talked about putting money into football clubs. I said thats what you want to do. Thats a good way forward, but the big thing... was their investment and they wanted people to do motivational speaking, so I mentioned a few managers that I thought would be good for it.Q. So what did you say to Sam?A. I didnt say anything to Sam straight away because there was nothing to say. They built me up. This is not something that happened between Monday and Friday. This was over 13 weeks. Dozens and dozens of emails, hundreds of text messages, hundreds of phone calls. I met four different people saying were the Meiren Group. I had nothing to think there was anything wrong. Allardyce was in charge of England for one match - a 1-0 victory away to Slovakia Q. How did you go about getting Sam involved? What was your relationship like?A. Ive been friendly with Sam for a long, long time. When I was at Man United, I played in a reserve-team game against him. I met him at a later stage in my career. We socialised in Manchester. When I finished football about 20 years ago, he was a manager and I got in contact with him because Id become an agent.Q. What did you tell him? How did he come to be at this meeting at the May Fair Hotel?A. He only came for me. A hundred per cent for me. When I told him I had this opportunity. I phoned him up and said I had the chance of getting this job and it looked very good and they were looking for someone to do motivational speaking. The key to this is, I spoke to Sam when he was Sunderland manager, he wasnt the England manager. The first meeting I had with them, Sam was Sunderland manager. I assumed it would be motivational speaking in the off season. That was all it was about. I phoned Sam and he said Would it help you? I said it would definitely help and he said Go on, lad. No problem. That was it. McGarvey and Allardyce met undercover reporters posing as businessmen at the May Fair Hotel in London Q. Do you feel responsible for Sam losing his job as England manager?A. Im devastated for him. I cant think of anything worse that could have happened to my life.Q. Have you tried speaking to him?A. I spoke to Sam on the Monday [day before publication] when wed found out it was a big con. Id found out on Sunday evening and Id phoned my lawyers. I came into the lawyers in the morning and Sam called me at about 10:30 and he just said: Scotty, its a stitch up, youve been had over. Not him, me. And I said: I know, Im in the lawyers. And he said: Just sort it, lad. That was it.Q. Does he feel you are responsible for his downfall?A. Hes got to feel Im responsible because Im the one whos brought him to the meeting but hes only come for me. Hes never once spoken about money. Hes never once said anything about money. It was only: Are you OK, lad? Ill help you. Do I think he holds me responsible? I think hes known me for a long, long time. He knows that Id never do that to him or to anybody in football.Q. Are you surprised that he lost his job?A. Very surprised.Q. You think theres been an over-reaction?A. Yes, I do.Q. How would you describe Sam?A. Hes not greedy, hes not somebody who wants money as its being portrayed.Q. And in all the business dealings youve had with him, everything has been clean and above board?A. Hundred per cent. You dont deal with managers as agents. You deal with the chief executive or even the owner. The manager is never really there when it comes to doing the deal. I can understand if he (Allardyce) doesnt speak to me. It might take a bit of time because I know how hurt he is at losing the England job. Scott McGarvey on his friendship with Sam Allardyce Q. Can you be friends with him again? Will he speak to you again?A. I can understand if he doesnt speak to me again. I need to respect that, but I hope not because we go back a long way. If Ive done anything wrong in this sting, its that Ive embellished some stories with the people who I thought were giving me this magnificent contract. I can understand if he doesnt speak to me. It might take a bit of time because I know how hurt he is at losing the England job. It doesnt matter if youre the manager of Crewe and you lose your job but if youre the manager of England and you lose your job after one game, its a joke.Q. Can Sam bounce back from this?A. One hundred per cent. Ive got to hope that Ive got the character to bounce back as well. Im on the floor right now and its not a good place to be but I know Sam will bounce back because hes been a manager for a long time and you have to be mentally strong to be a manager today. When he says he wants to get back into football, he will be inundated with offers.Q. Do you think its entrapment? Thats what Sam thinks?A. Capital E. Absolutely. Hundred per cent. This is not Monday to Friday. This is 13 weeks of dozens of emails, hundreds of texts, hundreds of calls and bringing more than seven or eight innocent people into this story. McGarvey believes Allardyce will return to football Q. Will you hand over all that evidence? Will you co-operate with any investigation?A. I hope there is an investigation because it should come out to show how these people have gone about their business to do what they have done.Q. What do you think of these people?A. I couldnt tell you on live television. I couldnt say what I think. Theyve ruined me. McGarvey believes he was entrapped when he was caught up in the situation which ultimately saw Allardyce leave his role as England boss Q.dddddddddddd What has your life been like for the past couple of weeks?A. Not good. Difficult. Ive had lots of phone calls from different people in football but Ive had lots of no phone calls from different people in football. If Id been knocked down by a car, I would have had a thousand phone calls. But Ive been knocked down by a bus. Ive got up, but not a lot of phone calls. McGarvey played for Portsmouth from 1984 to 1986, having begun his football career at Manchester United Q. Do you think you have a future in football?A. Im not really bothered about that. Id love the public to know what happened and how they have done Sam and the two other people who were involved with me.Q. One of those two other people was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. How did he get involved? Why him? A. Id been speaking to him for four or five months regarding players. I think hes fantastic. Ive only met him twice but from the conversations I had on the phone, you could tell that he was a football man. Im more than happy to give the FA every single text message I had from Jimmy. Theres not one thats not about football. Regarding Jimmy, I asked him to come to a meeting to talk about motivational speaking. We had the meeting on his day off. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink insisted he was innocent after being named in the Daily Telegraphs investigation into football corruption Q. Do you think Hasselbaink has done anything wrong?A. Whats he done wrong? Hes a football manager speaking to an agent about players. He says Find me good players. I dont know a manager who wouldnt say that. They spoke about motivational speaking. She offers him 35, 40 grand. Whats he going to say? Youre offering me too much, give me 10? Im gutted... because I think Jimmy would have been a pal of mine. I thought he was a great guy. McGarvey on QPR boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Q. Have you had any contact with him since?A. I havent and Im gutted about that because I think Jimmy would have been a pal of mine. I thought he was a great guy.Q. If hes watching this, what would you say to him?A. Im so sorry but it was unintentional. I thought I was doing the best thing. I thought I was doing him a favour. SSNHQs full interview with QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink on September 30, as he denied any wrongdoing following corruption claims Q. If Sam is watching this, what would you say to him?A. One day, I will speak to Sam. He knows me, he knows I would never do that. Anybody in football who knows me knows that I would never stitch anybody up, never mind a football person. This has ruined me, believe me.Q. Do you feel Eric Black did anything wrong?A. No, apart from coming for me. There was no gain in it for him coming to meet me there. I apologised but he (Black) knows me and hes got nothing in his body that would tell him that Id do anything wrong. McGarvey on Southampton assistant boss Eric Black Q. Have you spoken to him since the story came out?A. Yes. I apologised but he knows me and hes got nothing in his body that would tell him that Id do anything wrong.Q. Is football endemically corrupt in your experience as a player and an agent?A. You see the four journalists that set me up and portrayed themselves as agents and something theyre not. What would you put that down as? What would you say they were? Well, some people would say that they were trying to uncover the truth. So they ruin lives, they ruin lives, they ruin lives. Thats what they do. They go into hiding until they scam somebody else. McGarvey has accused the undercover reporters of ruining lives Q. One of the headlines in the Telegraph said there were eight managers who take bungs? Is this something youve come across in the industry?A. Never. One hundred per cent. Never. Not one manager has asked for money from me. Not once.Q. Why, according to the Telegraph, did you say you knew of four managers who take bribes?A. I cant believe I would have named one manager, never mind four. What I would say is that this job opportunity came up. Theyve entrapped me into a situation where they were giving me financial backing. Im seeing this opportunity. I had this big vision and at every meeting, it built up and built up and built up.Q. Did they ever pay you?A. Nothing. Its easy now after the event sitting and thinking Ive been duped, Ive been had over and I need to get that out to the footballing world. They need to know that Ive been duped. If I was a football agent, which I may not be any more, the first thing I would say to my footballers is: Have no new friends - and thats a sad state of affairs.Q. People will be asking - why did you fall for this?A. If I had a few quid, I wouldnt have taken this job in the first place. I signed the contract on September 22 in Southampton - consultancy contract, Range Rover pick-up, all expenses paid. I never got a payment. Id promised to pay my granddaughters school fees. How do you tell people you cant do that now?I want to clear my name because I socialise in football circles and Id hate to be the person sat in the corner who no one wants to talk to. That wont happen to me. What am I going to do? I need to do something, but Im more concerned about getting the truth out. Im more concerned that people would see Sam, Eric and Jimmy - whove done nothing - in a bad light.Especially Eric and Sam, whove been my friends and have come for me to these meetings to help me. And if it had been a real company, it would have been a big help. If youre a footballer or manager now, its a sad state of affairs, when new people come into your life... how could you trust anybody when people are going and doing what they are doing to the lengths that theyve gone to? To ruin Scott McGarvey? Whos Scott McGarvey? ' ' '