Pellegrini: I want to be manager when I’m 75

Manuel Pellegrini hopes to still be in management when he is 75.

The West Ham boss, 65, comes up against 71-yearold Roy Hodgson when Crystal Palace visit the London Stadium today.

Pellegrini, Hodgson, 70-year-old Cardiff manager Neil Warnock and new Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri, 67, continue to fly the flag for the Premier League’sseniorgaf- fers – and the Chilean wants to carry on for another decade at least.

“I have been working away from my country for 20 years, and another 10 in my country before that, and I hope I will carry on for many more years,” he said.

“Of course I hope to be working in my 70s – at 75-plus! If I am in good shape I will do it.

“In this profession the more experience you have the easier it is to analyse the game.

“I would prefer to be 10 years younger, but you can continue working in the same way if you keep yourself in good shape – and remain hungry to continue in work.”

Pellegrini, whose first job in management was with Universidad de Chile in 1988, says one of the first things he learned was the importance of understanding human mentality.

It is something he is still practising 30 years on, it seems, in the case of Tuesday’s two-goal hero against Cardiff, Lucas Perez.

The Spanish striker has yet to start a Premier League game since his summer switch from Arsenal but, having come off the bench for the injured Marko Arnautovic to great effect in midweek, he could be in line to face Palace.

However, Pellegrini hinted he has not been entirely convinced by 30-year-old Perez’s application so far this season.

He added: “I think that Lucas has a lot of things to learn, but he now has the option to demonstrate that he is a player who has the level to play in the Premier League. It depends on what he does in the next games.”