Manuel Pellegrini has condemned his Manchester City squad for trashing their season, calling their Premier League title defence ‘garbage’.
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The Chilean coach is particularly angry given the way City have performed over the past few weeks and the way his players have allowed the season to fall apart after a succession of key defeats.
City have dropped points away at Burnley, Liverpool and Crystal Palace over the past few months and have now dropped to fourth in the League, potentially facing a fight for that spot from Liverpool and their Champions League qualification could depend on the result of the Manchester derby this weekend.
But Pellegrini wants his side to use the occasion at Old Trafford to their advantage and says his side must use the derby to make amends with their supporters for a nightmarish few weeks.
“It has not been a good season, definitely not. It was not so bad at the turn of the year, when we were at the top of the table, in the Champions League and hadn’t yet started in the FA Cup. But in the last three months we have thrown it into the garbage,” said Pellegrini according to Mirror Online.
“I think always for the fans it is important to finish as near to the top of the table as you can and that’s what we must do.
“This is a chance for the players to give something to the fans. At this moment we are doing some things correctly so we must try to keep those things. But we are also doing some things very badly, that’s why we must improve.”
2015 has certainly been a year to forget for City with just five wins since the turn of the year with four defeats and three draws.
But City have had their derby rivals’ number in recent seasons with four wins on the trot against the Red Devils and perhaps if Pellegrini can mastermind a fifth, he won’t be facing the axe in the summer that so many have tipped him for.