MANCHESTER City manager Manuel Pellegrini has hit out at the sacking culture he believes is prevalent in the Premier League and insists he is not feeling the heat.
The Chilean has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, with the soon-to-be-dethroned champions’ title defence all but over after a series of poor performances.
A 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday has seen them fall nine points behind leaders Chelsea, who have a game in hand, leading to speculation surrounding Pellegrini’s future.
However, the Chilean insists he is unaffected by the club’s recent run of poor form and says if every manager was sacked on the basis of a few bad results, then only Jose Mourinho would be safe from scrutiny.
“The pressure for the manager of a big team is always the same. This season you sack (Arsene) Wenger. After that (Louis) Van Gaal,” he is quoted as saying by the Daily Express.
“After that you sack the Liverpool manager (Brendan Rodgers). After that you sack me. After that you sack the Everton manager (Roberto Martinez).
“You sack all except the team who are top of the table.
“Go to Spain and they sack Luis Enrique and Carlo Ancelotti. So what pressure are people talking about?
“The pressure is to win, to play well and to try to win titles. Normally you can’t win the title here with the same team because you have very strong teams.”
Pellegrini readily admits that City have stuttered in recent months, and concedes that their title challenge is all but over.
“In the last three months we threw it into the garbage,” he added. “But for the fans it’s still important to finish as near to the top of the table as you can.”