STER CRAZY
different players you have to adapt. Sometimes it can be very quick – or it can take time.
“I feel at home now and we have been making progress against the big teams this season.
“Our next chance to show what we can do is this game against City.” Chadli, signed with some of the cash from the transfer of B Bale (right), has fo found his feet and scored 12 times this season. But he also suffered a tough MANUEL PELLEGRINI is starting to crack under the pressure of Manchester City’s miserable season.
The normally cautious City boss let his guard down as he spoke about the future ahead of today’s trip to Tottenham – and now seems gripped by a level of paranoia that will worry his employers at the Etihad Stadium as they look for evidence that the Chilean can take the club forward.
Pellegrini is steadfastly refusing to look any further than the end of the current campaign, but insists it has nothing to do with the fact he is yet to be given assurances that he will complete the final 12 months of his contract.
“I am not sure why you continue asking about next year when you are saying I will be sacked at the end of the season,” said Pellegrini.
“Maybe you have some doubts. Maybe you have some feelings. At the end of the season so many things change that maybe a lot of things you are doing you will not be able to finish.
“So at the moment, it is far more important to win these last 12 points.
“I will not talk about next season. There are a lot of things that will happen in the future, but in football you never know because it is not your decision.
“I have good communications inside the club, but will talk about next season when we finish this one. We will talk about a lot of things.”
City’s place in the top four will be guaranteed if they win just one of their final four games. But it has been a disastrous 2015 considering the reigning time personally when his father died last January.
He explained: “It takes a long time to come through something like that and you never forget it. But I am starting to feel better.”
Chadli is a good friend of City captain Vincent Kompany champions were level with Chelsea on both points and goal difference on New Year’s Day.
City are now 13 points adrift of Jose Mourinho’s champions-elect.
They lost at home to Middlesbrough in the third-round of the FA Cup and were unfortunate to meet a brilliant Barcelona side in the Champions League.
With their defence of the Capital One Cup ended by Newcastle at the Etihad in October, Pellegrini will be hoping that the memory of last season’s domestic double is enough to buy him some time.
The 61-year-old has some valid excuses why City have struggled this season – such as the restrictions of Financial Fair Play and the failure of signings made by sporting director Txiki Begiristain to improve the squad.
Begiristain, chief executive Ferran Soriano and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak (below) must now decide whether that justifies such a limp title defence.
And whether Pellegrini has the ability, charisma and energy to reinvigorate the team.
Pellegrini was recruited in 2013 as an antidote to the tempestuous nature of Roberto Mancini’s reign, but even some City fans feel he lacks genuine passion. Pellegrini insists he will not be happy with a second-placed finish.
He said: “If you finish second, it is because just one team did it better than you.
“But I still say that for this team not to have any achievements, then it is a bad season.
“It would be different if we finished second in the league with the same points gap, but maybe won the FA Cup or the League Cup or did well in the Champions League.
“It has been a bad season, not just because of the gap between us and Chelsea, but because the whole season has not been
good.” (left), who helped him recover from a tiring World Cup by recommending a break at a wellness centre.
Chadli said: “It is a castle in the north of Italy, a place to relax and learn. I felt very good there. I felt totally new afterwards.”