“We have to win our last league game now and then see what happens”. Put in a good defensive shift and broke forward whenever he could, setting up Montero for a far post effort which was disallowed.
Advertisement
City, a financial superpower like United, can easily overcome the financial implications of not having Champions League soccer, but it would be blow to miss out at the end of a season in which the club reached the semifinals of the competition for the first time.
However, the Nigerian striker is the only Academy player to become a first-team regular under Pellegrini – making 35 appearances and scoring 14 times.
The Welsh club looked as though they may be dragged into the relegation fight but have responded so well under manager Francesco Guidolin that the Italian, who was appointed in January, has been awarded a new two-year contract with the Swans 11th in the table. At the final whistle, both sides had to share the points with a point each.
Pellegrini, 62, will start looking for work again following the completion of the Chilean’s mission to secure Champions League football and he can go job hunting with his head held high. Decent in patches, but eventually falling short due to some awful finishing.
Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Swansea was Pellegrini’s last match in charge of City before Pep Guardiola takes over this summer. A man with more hand signals than a policeman on a Rome roundabout.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini told his players not to be distracted by events at Old Trafford before their game at Swansea kicked-off. “It is a very special day and it is not easy to leave”. “I think that is a good season, and a good cycle of three seasons”.
“Everything in life must finish, it’s finished today”.
The Manchester United-Bournemouth game in the last round of the Premier League on Sunday was suspended following the discovery of a suspect package in the stadium, reports Efe. That included three losses in four league matches directly following the announcement, two of which were to title rivals Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur. “One of the most hard things to finish this season was after they announced this club will change (manager) next season, was the atmosphere inside the team”, Pellegrini said.
Pellegrini said: “It is so important (for it) to just depend on what we can do”.
“We were in a really good position with just a couple of months to go and we’ve not finished well”.
Pellegrini admits the players were down but he was sure West Ham – who were it not for a vastly inferior goal difference might still be in Champions League contention themselves – would still have a say.
“In three seasons we have taken the most points of all the big teams, we have scored the most goals, and we have scored the most goals every season”.
Advertisement
“Luckily, we have won the chance to get a trophy for you and that’s what we will try to do this coming Saturday”, he added.
