Manuel Pellegrini has played down fears his job will be under threat if Manchester City fail to win against Roma in the Champions League tonight.
City need a win in Rome to give them the best chance of qualification from Group E and must hope that CSKA Moscow fail to win at Bayern Munich.
If City fail to qualify it will be the third time in four seasons they have done so but boss Pellegrini was quick to dismiss any worries.
“It’s an important game and we all want to qualify, but I don’t think what happens will have any link to my future,” he told reporters.
“I never received any kind of pressure from the club. I think we will qualify but it has nothing to do with my future here.
“We showed against Bayern Munich, we are fighting to qualify and I am sure we will do it if we play a good game.
“It’s very important for the club to play in the next round.”
City will be without star striker Sergio Aguero who is set for around four to six weeks on the sidelines with knee ligament damage.
The Argentine has been instrumental so far this season and was integral to City turning their most recent European game against Bayern Munich around with two late goals to win 3-2.
“We will see how long he [Aguero] will be out, but it’s more important to think about the players we have for this very important game in Rome,” Pellegrini added.
Edin Dezko made his return to first-team action on Saturday against Everton and will likely feature tonight.
The Bosnian admitted it will be tough with Aguero but he is more than ready to try and fill his boots.
“That was a big blow for us,” said Dzeko. “You can see how he played recently for us, so it is a big blow hopefully not for too many weeks. We have to deal with it.
“I’m there when the team needs me and first of all I’m happy to be back because I was never actually injured so long.
“I always try to do my job and my job is to score goals. I will keep scoring them I’m sure if I keep healthy.”
Stevan Jovetic is also expected to be fit for tonight’s clash so it will be down to Pellegrini to decide his formation and whether he goes with two up top.
“We will see who the manager picks. Saturday was my first game and I expected even less than 30 minutes. The feeling was OK but I still need some more games to come back,” Dzeko added.
“It’s better confidence, better atmosphere in the team when you’re winning the games.”
Main image courtesy of Manchester City FC via YouTube, with thanks.
