Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini looks set to be handed one more year to get things right at the club, according to the Daily Mail – and it’s clear this is the wisest decision.
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The reigning Premier League champions have been on a dreadful run of form of late, but seem set to keep their patience with Pellegrini as they wait one more summer before they can approach Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola.
The Spaniard is City’s long-term target, with Pellegrini brought in largely as a stop-gap, and a manager of Guardiola’s quality is certainly worth waiting for, especially as things are by no means as bad as they might seem at City right now.
Fans have short memories in football these days, and the Chilean tactician just twelve months ago delivered the Premier League title and Capital One Cup in his first season, all while playing an attractive brand of attacking football, scoring 102 goals in the league. Very few managers have managed to retain the Premier League, and it’s perhaps not surprising that this ageing squad has struggled to deliver and is perhaps veering slightly towards complacency after last season’s achievements – it is the players that need a shake-up, not the manager.
Pellegrini can do fine for one more season if given the funds to change things at the Etihad Stadium. For this summer at least, there isn’t going to be anyone better available – Guardiola and Simeone are not leaving their clubs just yet, and while Carlo Ancelotti might be a possibility, he isn’t a huge upgrade in the long term in the same way that the other two are.
No trophies is a big disappointment, for sure, as is an early Champions League exit, but on the face of it, if City finish second they are still doing alright in their ongoing journey to establish themselves as a top club, which certainly doesn’t happen overnight, billions spent on new players or not.