Manuel Pellegrini said he expects to be the Manchester City manager next season and has spoken bullishly about how the club will win back the Premier League title.
His position came under threat after City’s weak defence of the championship, though the team rallied to win their last six matches. Pep Guardiola, the Bayern Munich coach who is City’s ideal successor, is not available, so it appears likely Pellegrini will stay on into the final year of his contract.
“I am sure we are going to return stronger next season and that we are going to recover the title for the Etihad,” Pellegrini said. “The same way that our stadium is growing with the new stand I think the club completely will grow. There’s a lot of important things in our project that we must try to improve every year.”
Pellegrini suggested his confidence about being retained is based on discussions he has with the sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, the chief executive, Ferran Soriano, and the owners.
“I always have communication every week with the owners,” he said. “I know exactly what they think. They know what I think also. Every day we are talking also with Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano so we will see which is the best way to try to improve our squad and try to recover the title.”
Pellegrini wants to strengthen his squad and Juventus’s Paul Pogba, Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling and Wolfsburg’s Kevin de Bruyne are among the targets.
The manager said: “I think every team needs change every year. Maybe I would tell you exactly the same if we won the title again. We must make some changes, we will see which are the players that must go and which players will come. It is not easy because we must try not to make mistakes.”
