City were sitting pretty at the top of the table after a flawless start, but have dropped to third – behind Arsenal and Brighton.

After the guilty verdict was announced during the last international break, Maresca’s men won their first game back – against 10-man Liverpool at Anfield – then narrowly overcame Ipswich at Etihad Stadium in their following match.

But they have since lost to Aston Villa, Brighton and Nottingham Forest, with defensive issues exposed and individual mistakes proving costly.

In their first seven games of the season, City did not concede any goals because of individual errors – but that has shifted dramatically in the past three matches, with four mistakes from players contributing to goals.

City have conceded 13 goals after 10 league games – their highest total at this stage of a season since 2008-09, when they had let in 16 – and that has prompted questions about their defensive solidity.

Asked if the uncertainty over the ongoing appeal process may affect the focus and attention of players, McCarthy said: “Yeah, that would be a very reasonable human response.

“When people are uncertain about their future, that uncertainty leads to a lack of perceived control, so uncertainty is often more stressful than bad news and the research shows that.

“So while you are waiting and you don’t know the outcome, you are uncertain of where you are and there is that lack of control for a lot of people – they come to training, they play their games and it’s outside of their responsibility.”



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