Manuel Pellegrini has denied his departure from Manchester City at the end of the season makes it difficult to motivate his players, despite the team having won only two league matches since Pep Guardiola was announced as the Chilean’s successor.
Guardiola’s arrival was confirmed on 1 February when City were in second place, three points behind Leicester City. Pellegrini’s side have fallen to fourth, taking seven points from a possible 21, and are 15 behind the leaders with a game in hand.
Yet, asked if ensuring his players respond to him was now difficult, Pellegrini said: “I think that as a manager and as a player you must always be motivated. It doesn’t matter – you never know what will happen at the end of the season. It’s very important for the mentality of the players to always try to be a winner, to try and win as many titles and games as you can.
“So I don’t think anybody is thinking about what will happen next season. Every player must be thinking about what is happening in this moment and to try and finish as a successful season.”
Pellegrini also defended his record at City, where he has won the title and two Capital One Cups, including one this term. “I don’t think about my legacy in this club, really. I am thinking to win Bournemouth on Saturday,” he said. “If you ask me for the moment, I won three titles in less than three years in difficult situations. It’s not easy to come here to the Premier League, coming from away, we are just talking about how hard it is to work in another country. But we won the title – the Premier – and the Capital One, we improved a lot of things in the Champions League and when we finish the season we can make a complete analysis.”
Pellegrini also insisted there should be optimism regarding Vincent Kompany. The Belgian suffered a leg injury in the goalless draw with Dynamo Kyiv last month. Yet Pellegrini clarified it was not the 14th calf injury of the player’s City career – as first thought – and that the captain can make a full recovery.
“The medical reports say it is not linked to the other injury,” he said, though Kompany will not be fit for Wednesday’s trip to Paris Saint-Germain for the Champions League quarter-final first leg. “I don’t think it’s related to his calf. Fortunately, it’s in his other leg. I think that Vincent is improving well and hopefully we will see him playing soon; maybe not on Wednesday but soon.
“I think Vincent has some very bad luck this season but that does not mean in the future he will continue with the same things. We should be optimistic about him. He is a very professional player. I’m sure he will do all he can not to have any problems in the future.”
Yaya Touré faces a race to be available for PSG because of a knee injury he has been carrying for a month and Joe Hart is out with a calf problem. Both miss Saturday’s match.
