Cook: My gaffes embarrassed City

Former chief executive Garry Cook admits he felt he had embarrassed Manchester City supporters with some of the errors he made while at the club.

Cook resigned from his post at the Etihad Stadium last September following an internal investigation into claims he sent an offensive email to the mother of player Nedum Onuoha. Cook had denied he sent the message
That departure brought to an end a turbulent three years as chief executive which included a number of public relations gaffes.
They included referring to City's previous owner Thaksin Shinawatra, who was found guilty of corruption in a Thai court, as a "nice guy", criticising former player of the year Richard Dunne, and accusing AC Milan of "bottling it" over the possible sale of Brazil playmaker Kaka to City.
Cook was also jeered at an official supporters' club function when he announced "I would like to welcome Uwe Rosler into the Manchester United Hall of Fame."
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester in an interview to be broadcast in full on Thursday evening, Cook said: "There are no excuses. There are my interpretations and there are the interpretations of the press.
"The thing I always felt when those interpretations were manifested was the embarrassment I'd caused the fans.
"In the end, I really felt that I didn't want to continue being the scapegoat of Manchester City and the point of attack.
"I am who I am but I was getting more and more concerned that it was becoming more about me than it was about the football club and the fans.
"That's not fair to them, it's their club and they deserve better than that."
Cook also believes there were four or five incidents during his time at City that "will be his nemesis that he will carry forever".
He said: "I was angry at AC Milan for the way they treated the football club with regards to Kaka. In retrospect, it was disrespectful to make public statements the way I did and I obviously regret that.
"Making a mistake with Uwe Rosler, my biggest concern was if I had dishonoured Uwe Rosler or the supporters' club.
"I deeply regret making a mistake. But I'm also a great believer that if you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough."
Despite those incidents, Cook also made a positive impact during his time at City, overseeing the club's rise to become major players on the European stage.
Last season City won their first league title since 1968.
"I am proud of what I've done, but it's not me alone. What I feel I managed to do was build a team of people who believed and could see the vision," added Cook, who was appointed by previous owner Shinawatra in 2008 and remained in position after overseeing the takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan's Abu Dhabi United Group later that year.
"I'm not responsible for what happened at Manchester City. I only played my part and I was very fortunate to be given that opportunity."