CITY SPECIAL New diet gave Pellegrini is on verge of taking job at West Ham Fab a hunger for City glory
MANUEL Pellegrini appears closer to a Premier League return after parting company with his Chinese Super League club.
The former City manager has been linked with a move to West Ham, who recently opted not to keep David Moyes on for another season following their 13th-placed finish.
Hebei China Fortune have confirmed the Chilean is leaving, their statement reading: “We have reached an agreement with Manuel Pellegrini that he will no longer serve as team manager.
“Here, the club would like to express its sincere gratitude to Mr Pellegrini for his contributions and we wish him well in his future work life.”
Pellegrini was reportedly set to travel to London over the weekend for further talks, with initial contact having taken place via representatives.
Assistant coaches Alan Irvine, Stuart Pearce and Billy McKinlay have also all left the London Stadium, allowing the new manager a clean slate.
West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan said the club needed to move in a ‘different direction’ with a ‘high-calibre figure’, and reports in Chile on Friday suggested Pellegrini had become the leading contender.
Pellegrini coached at Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga in Spain before taking charge of City in 2013, going on to win the 2013/14 Premier League title as well as the League Cup twice before his departure.
The 64-year-old Chilean left the Ethiad Stadium in June 2016, where he was succeeded by Pep Guardiola, but was soon back in work at Hebei. FABIAN Delph has explained how a vegan diet and mindfulness exercises helped him go from injury misery to a Premier League trophy and the World Cup.
The City star has had an amazing season, becoming an unexpected success at left-back filling in for Benjamin Mendy after turning down a move to Stoke. Now he has forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the trip to Russia.
Delph had struggled through an injury-hit two years in Manchester since leaving Aston Villa in 2015 and few predicted him to have an impact on either City or England this season.
But the utility player has turned those expectations on their head after finding a way to manage his confidence. In a new book Soccology: Inside The Hearts And Minds Of The Professionals On The Pitch - exploring the mental aspect of life as a professional sportsman, Delph spoke candidly about the worry that injuries would put an end to his top-level career.
“Not being in the team and only being spoken about in terms of my injury was hard,” he said.
“Being injured massively affected my mental state — self-doubt crept in.
“I began to question whether I would ever play again and, if I were to play again, whether my performances would be as good.
“When I began to train again, it took a while for me to adjust to my body’s changes as a result of the injury, find my confidence and get over my fear of breaking down.
“I decided to ignore my doubts and began to look at my body objectively, as if it were detached from me.
“I studied its weak parts, researched my injuries, began to strengthen my body and moved from rehab into pre-hab. “I carried out mindfulness exercises like the moving meditation of Tai Chi. “I changed the fuel I put into my body and switched to a vegan diet.” Pep Guardiola has had nothing but positives for Delph after seeing his biggest problem of the season solved. The Yorkshireman stood up to be counted in an unfamiliar position when Mendy suffered ligament damage in September and made the left-back spot his own. After seeing his impact in the team, the City manager had no hesitation in trumpeting the star for England duty when he met Southgate earlier this month and told the England boss it would be a risk NOT to take him to Russia. Delph could be set to feature in midfield for the Three Lions at the summer tournament. He has spent the last year playing predominantly as a defender, albeit with frequent moves into midfield.