Hodgson stressed his comment was not aimed at City striker Mario Balotelli, who has been involved in a series of spats with Roberto Mancini and was sent off for a third time this season against Arsenal.

But he said: “It should be that no player is bigger than his club. No player should really be a stronger person than the manager at the club. Once that happens you’re taking the power from where it should be, in the hands of someone who represents the club, the fans, the owners and the team.”

Hodgson made it clear that the kind of control enjoyed by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United is crucial for a club to enjoy success.

When asked how to manage troublesome players, Hodgson said: “It’s very difficult because, to use a Swedish expression, you always want the church in the centre of the village.

“In football terms, the church is the club itself which is often embodied in the manager, with Sir Alex Ferguson being the classic example.

“Once you get difficult players, backed up often by a sympathetic media who are happy to see the church get moved around, then it becomes very difficult.”

Hodgson added: “I’m talking very globally here. What you must not do is in any way refer this to Balotelli. I’m not referring to Balotelli. I don’t know the man from Adam. He might be the nicest fellow in the world, he might be a great pro.”

Hodgson does accept that the financial worth of a player can cloud the issue when it comes to deciding whether to retain his services.

He said: “There’s a further element – the financial element. We’ve seen it with Tevez. It’s pretty obvious to everyone the main reason Carlos Tevez comes back and plays again for Manchester City is because, if he doesn’t, that’s an awful lot of money out of the window.”

A Georgios Samaras header and an own goal by Saints midfielder Chris Millar after the break left Celtic on 78 points after 32 games and needing only a draw against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park next Saturday to be crowned champions.

Mjallby said: “There’s six games to go and we want to win it and sure, we want to win it on Saturday but we have a target to improve on last season’s points tally.”

Headded: “We achieved 92 points and we want to go at least one better so we can say there has been an improvement of the team because that is what you are striving for in management.”

Once again Neil Lennon, unhappy about media comments following recent defeats to Kilmarnock and Rangers, was absent from a general press conference with Mjallby saying the manager was “having a break” before outlining his side’s target to go one point better than last season, when they finished one point behind Rangers.

“We are delighted,” said the former Celtic defender. “We are even closer to clinching the title and it is always great to get back to winning ways, especially after losing two games on the trot.

“Our main target is try to pick 15 points from the last six league games.”

Mjallby believes there was unfair criticism of the Parkhead side after losing the Scottish Communities League Cup final to Killie and last week’s Old Firm derby at Ibrox, given that Celtic were at one stage 15 points behind Rangers – albeit having played two games less – and having gone on an 26-game unbeaten domestic run.

“I think it has been a wee bit too much,” said the Swede.

“We have been on a fantastic run. You have to remember where we were in October and obviously we have turned it around with a great run and now we are only one point from clinching the title.”

Patrick Vieira has claimed that United, along with most major clubs in Spain and Italy, benefited from favourable decisions on home soil. The argument has been reignited following Michael Oliver’s failure to award Fulham a last-minute penalty at Old Trafford on Monday for Michael Carrick’s clumsy challenge on Danny Murphy.

Ferguson accepts United – who won the game 1-0 – were lucky with that one. He said: “From the referee’s position, I can see why he didn’t give a penalty when Danny Murphy was brought down.”

He added: “The ball moved to the angle as Michael Carrick challenged him.

“From that position, it wasn’t clear. It was a good claim but City could have had a penalty against them at Stoke for a foul by Gareth Barry.

“Every club gets breaks here and there, you get good ones and bad ones. It evens itself out over the season, that will never change.”

Ferguson used United’s home game against Newcastle in November as an example of a major decision affecting his team, when Rio Ferdinand conceded a penalty for a perfectly fair challenge on Hatem Ben Arfa.

He also has not forgotten how Mario Balotelli escaped a red card for stamping on Scott Parker during Manchester City’s win over Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in January, then scored the match-winning penalty in injury-time.

“We had a terrible decision earlier this season when Newcastle got a penalty and Tottenham could claim the same when Mario Balotelli wasn’t sent off and ended up scoring the winning goal,” said Ferguson.

“You could go through millions of things like that.”

The midfielder refused to pull his punches, admitting the Blues let their standards drop after their historic comeback against Napoli. Since that result, they have reached the FA Cup semi-finals but have taken just one point from two Barclays Premier League games to slip five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, who drew 0-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Lampard told Chelsea TV: “The fixtures and where we are in the table doesn’t lie – we’re not as good as we used to be. We used to have a fortress here and, for whatever reason, we’re just not doing it. It’s something we must all put right.”

He added: “You know a derby against a very good Tottenham side is going to be tough. But I don’t think we were at it enough. We had to play more with the urgency we showed against Napoli. Against Tottenham, we didn’t really do enough to lift the fans. We had the high of Napoli, then we got beaten by Manchester City and now we need to up it again.”

Chelsea, who face Benfica on Tuesday in the first leg of their last-eight tie in the Champions League, have finished in the top four for nine successive seasons.

Lampard said: “Chelsea should be in the top four. No disrespect to the other top-five clubs but, with the ability we have, we should be in there. It is far from over. There is no point being downbeat about it at the minute.

“It’s five points and the gap has been bigger than that. It’s up to us now to get ourselves right for Benfica and the league games coming up.”

Admitting Chelsea were outsiders in the race for fourth place, Lampard added: “That’s due to dropping points throughout the season, not drawing with Tottenham at home.

“It’s losing games we should have won home and away. We have to take all the league games now as knockout matches.

“It’s very cliched but we’re fighting from behind, and if we lose a game and lose points then the gap is bigger and the amount of games left is shorter. So we know, especially after that draw, the gap is still five points and there is no more room for slip-ups.”

Wigan’s survival hopes received an unexpected boost as they recorded their first victory at Anfield – 2-1 – to beat a flailing Liverpool.

Much like last season, when they escaped relegation on the final day of the season, Roberto Martinez’s side appear to be hitting form at exactly the right time.

They have lost just once in their last seven matches and a first win at Anfield ensured they remain well in the battle to stay up as they are only a point from safety.

The statistics for Liverpool are damning; five defeats in the last six Barclays Premier League matches – 10 losses for the season – and only two wins in 2012 do not make happy reading for manager Kenny Dalglish.

He is already facing some difficult questions and had he not already won the Carling Cup and progressed to the semi-final of the FA Cup the situation would be even more uncomfortable for the Scot.

Even a late debut for 17-year-old reserves prodigy Raheem Sterling could not lift the gathering gloom at Anfield.

But as poor as Liverpool were credit must go to Wigan who stuck to their task and, unlike in recent weeks when they have been unable to hold on to good positions, they bounced back from Luis Suarez’s equaliser to claim a vital victory.

Shaun Maloney’s penalty gave the visitors a half-time lead and despite being pegged back just two minutes after the break by the Uruguay international’s 12th of the season, Gary Caldwell secured Wigan’s first win at Anfield just past the hour.

The early signs were that it was going to be another frustrating afternoon for the home side as nothing they tried came off with passes falling short, going astray or players being caught in possession.

Wigan, by nature of their perilous position, were hungrier and more determined and when Victor Moses got past Jose Enrique, albeit by virtue of a surreptitious handball, Martin Skrtel blocked the winger’s shot.

Steven Gerrard’s bobbled shot wide was indicative of Liverpool’s play while Stewart Downing fired a half-volley just wide of the far post after exchanging passes with Suarez.

Wigan had not threatened Jose Reina’s goal until just before the half hour when Skrtel, in trying to clear Jamie Carragher’s aimless header, caught Moses in the face.

Referee Lee Mason pointed to the spot and after a couple of minutes’ delay for Moses to receive treatment Maloney tucked away the penalty.

Suarez finally forced Ali Al Habsi into a save five minutes before half-time with a 25-yard curling effort before another Gerrard shot was palmed behind.

Andy Carroll replaced Jordan Henderson, who had been the primary focus of Anfield’s annoyance, for the second half but it was Gerrard and Suarez – Liverpool’s two most reliable attacking forces – who combined for the equaliser just two minutes after the restart.

Suarez moved the ball out to his captain on the right of the penalty area and continued his run to convert the return with a shot across Al Habsi.

The Uruguay international should have doubled his tally in the 53rd minute but inexplicably punched the ball over the line from Skrtel’s downward header when it when he was so close to the goal he could have let it hit him and it would still probably have gone in.

Suarez has previous for use of the hands having denied Ghana a World Cup semi-final place with his last-minute save on the goalline in South Africa nearly two years ago.

The Reds were made to pay in the 63rd minute when James McCarthy’s shot from Carroll’s defensive header deflected off Jamie Carragher to Caldwell.

Showing composure not usually befitting a centre-back in front of goal he side-stepped Carroll to fire past Reina.

With seven minutes remaining Sterling, signed from QPR for #600,000 just over two years ago, was given his chance.

The youngster had one good run along the edge of the 18-yard box which almost set up a shooting opportunity but it was asking a lot for the teenager to have an impact on a game in which a number of his vastly more experienced team-mates had failed to impose themselves.

At the final whistle Wigan’s small band of travelling fans were ecstatic but the pervading feeling from those who remained at Anfield until the final whistle was one of growing discontent.

Italian sporting authorities handed out a 20,000-euro fine, double the penalty Juve were given in January after racist chanting directed at Udinese’s Pablo Armero, of Colombia, and Cape Verde-born Swiss international Gelson Fernandes.

They were also docked 10,000-euros in October after racist chanting against Inter Milan.

Milan players Sulley Muntari of Ghana and Dutchman Urby Emanuelson were the targets of the chants on Tuesday.

This latest fine confirms the Juventus fans’ sorry record when it comes to racist chanting. They regularly abused Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli — an Italian of Ghanaian origin — during his Inter days.

In 2008/09 Juve had to play a match behind closed doors after their fans racially abused Balotelli following a controversial incident during the team’s clash with Inter.

That seemed to anger and galvanise certain sections of the Juve support who proceeded to regularly target Balotelli, even when not playing against his team.

The next season the club was punished four times, including a partial stand closure once, for fans’ anti-Balotelli chants.

That season they were hit with 25,000-euro and 20,000-euro fines as well as the closure of the stand holding their ‘Ultra’ fans for one match, whereas this season the sanctions have been tame in comparison.

The draw left fifth-placed Chelsea five points adrift of a coveted Champions League qualifying berth, and fourth-placed Tottenham were unlucky not to take all three points after twice going close late on.

Spurs, bidding to secure their first league win at Chelsea since 1990, enjoyed the better of the chances without ever managing to dominate their London rivals in a game played in brilliant sunshine.

The best chance of a lackustre first half came two minutes into injury time, when Tottenham attacker Rafael van der Vaart spurned a golden opportunity, denied by a Petr Cech save and a goal-line block by Ashley Cole.

Chelsea’s only genuine chance on goal came on 73 minutes when a Juan Mata free-kick hit the woodwork with Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel well-beaten.

Blues substitute David Luiz was unable to get into position to rifle in the rebound and the chance had gone.

At the other end, Chelsea had transfer window signing Gary Cahill to thank for a superb sliding block from Emmanuel Adebayor on 79 minutes, the England international cutting out the Togolese striker’s effort after he had successfully rounded Petr Cech and shot.

From the ensuing corner Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale crashed a thumping header off the crossbar but Chelsea escaped again.

In the final minute of injury time Cech was on hand once more to parry away a vicious long-range free-kick from Bale as Chelsea hung on for the point.

In later games on Saturday, Manchester City will bid to reclaim top spot with in the title race with victory at Stoke, with Manchester United not playing Fulham until Monday.

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