Manuel Pellegrini says he feels no
pressure to win the Premier League
title with Manchester City.
The Blues lost out to city rivals
Manchester United last season, after
winning the trophy in 2012.
But former Malaga coach Pellegrini, who
replaced Roberto Mancini in June, said
his focus for the coming campaign was
on developing City's youth programme.
"I'm not only here to win trophies, I'm
here to work with young players," said
the 59-year-old Chilean.
"I'm not concerned about finishing
second. I'm not concerned about the
pressures."
However he stressed "immediate
success" was still an aim.
So far this summer, City have signed 27-
year-old Spain winger Jesus Navas from
Sevilla and Brazilian midfielder
Fernandinho, 28, from Shakhtar Donetsk.
"As a coach we want immediate success.
I'm trying to have a strong squad that
can bring us trophies," he said.
Pellegrini said he also plans to sign a
striker but warned fans not to expect a
large influx of players.
Speaking in his first news conference
since becoming City boss, he added: "We
need a very good squad.
"Next week, we'll see about different
players (in the current squad).
"I can't buy four or five players every
year, we need to work with young
players."
While Pellegrini suggested there will not
be wholesale changes, he does intend to
make his own mark on City's playing
style.
"Man City fans will see a different way of
playing than they have seen in other
years," he said. "We will try to be an
attractive team."
Mancini was sacked on 13 May, a year
to the day after he won City's first
Premier League title.
Despite winning the league and the FA
Cup during three-and-a-half years in
charge, Mancini was criticised at times
for a defensive style of play.
Pellegrini said: "One of the reasons I am
here is for the way we play."
The Chilean, nicknamed 'The Engineer'
because he has studied engineering, did
not elaborate on his planned tactics.
Pellegrini is renowned for being flexible.
In the away leg of last season's last-16
Champions League clash against Porto,
his attacking Malaga side stuck rigidly to
a defensive 4-5-1 formation - and only
conceded only once.
Pellegrini then altered the system for
the second leg to 4-2-3-1 - as goals from
Isco and Roque Santa Cruz gave Malaga a
2-0 win on the night, and a 2-1 aggregate
victory to secure their spot in the
quarter-finals.
The new City boss insisted that neither
he nor the club had prioritised winning
the Premier League over the Champions
League.
The 2011-12 league champions finished
11 points behind rivals Manchester
United in the race for the title, and failed
to progress past the group stages in the
Champions League.
"We don't prioritise one more than the
other," added Pellegrini. "Man City need
to improve on how they've performed in
the Champions League, while the
Premier League is very important."
The manager also said that the battle for
Premier League honours next season was
not simply between the Manchester
sides.
"We have United, Chelsea, Tottenham -
five or six teams who are trying to win
the league. We will try to repeat what
we achieved two seasons ago."
Fernandinho, brought in before Pellegrini
was officially installed as manager, said
he hoped to build a good bond with the
Chilean.
"I spent eight years with the same
manager [Mircea Lucescu at Shakhtar
Donetsk] and the relationship was
great," said the Brazilian through a
translator.
"I hope I can build a great relationship
with Pellegrini."
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» No title pressure, says Pellegrini
No title pressure, says Pellegrini
Posted by Oluseyi Olaniyi
Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2013
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