Manchester City captain Richard Dunne admits his team-mates deserved the abuse heaped on them by their own fans at Wigan on Saturday.

Chants of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' rang out from the visitors' end as City slumped to a four-goal defeat.

Even chairman John Wardle felt compelled to label the performance 'an embarrassment', warning any repeat would not be tolerated in the future.

As skipper, Dubliner Dunne felt the pain of defeat more than most, particularly as his third-minute own goal helped Wigan on their way.

And the Republic of Ireland international accepts after turning in a display as bad as that, the players are open to any criticism they receive.

"The fans are so loyal and behind us that when they do turn on the players, it is even more noticeable and hits us quite hard," Dunne said.

"Having said that, it is what we should expect and what we deserve. We didn't perform. It was a terrible start and we never realistically looked like getting back into the game.

"I was angry, everyone in the dressing room was angry with themselves because, on the day, no-one performed. We have to look at ourselves and admit it was not good enough."

But there is a glimmer of hope for City ahead of Monday's televised encounter with Middlesbrough.

After trying to pick his way through an horrendous injury list for most of the campaign so far, manager Stuart Pearce may suddenly have a few options.

As many as five of his injured stars could be available to face Boro, with Ben Thatcher also available now the former Wales international has completed his eight-match ban.

"We are hoping as many as possible will return to training by the end of the week, including Hatem Trabelsi, Stephen Ireland, Sylvain Distin, Claudio Reyna and, probably, DaMarcus Beasley," Pearce said.