City finished third in the Premier League after goals from Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko edged out Bolton in a 2-0 success on the final day of the season. It capped a marvellous campaign for the Eastlands outfit who added the club's highest top-flight finish for 34 years to their recent FA Cup success. And only Chelsea's superior goal difference prevented City claiming the runners-up spot behind rivals Manchester United. Mancini admitted he was relieved to secure a top-three place by beating Bolton and avoid a potentially tricky qualifying game in Europe's elite competition. He said: "It was really important to finish third. "Because, as the weeks went by, it was very difficult to get into that position but in the last two games we had this chance. And when we got the chance it was a big lift for us. "Not that we didn't deserve that position because, for me, we deserved that second position. "We wanted that throughout the season - we wanted that moment even when we lost some games we didn't deserve to lose. "It was always in our work and we only had one month where we lost five or six players. "But after that we always tried to play football." Mancini, who insists skipper Carlos Tevez will not be leaving City this summer, believes his team will improve further next season and look to mount a sustained Premier League title challenge. The Italian boss said: "Should we be going for the Premier League title next season? I think this is very important. "It is very important to improve every day. "Last year we were in fifth position, this year we are in third position and second position with Chelsea - but Chelsea scored a lot of goals. "Next year we want to improve."
