Manuel Pellegrini wants Manchester City to show their class and rebound from their Old Trafford mauling when they face West Ham on Sunday.
City’s poor run of form continued against local rivals United last weekend, with a heavy 4-2 defeat all but ruling them out of a repeat Premier League title and leaving them in a race to qualify for the Champions League.
Pellegrini’s men have won just four league games from 12 since jointly leading the table in early January and any more bad results could put their top-four place in serious danger.
But it is the bitter taste of the Manchester derby debacle that Pellegrini would like to banish first when they take on a West Ham side also struggling for form as the end of the season nears.
Pellegrini said: “When you lose a game the first few days are always difficult, especially when you lose a derby.
“But I think the players are conscious we don’t have results that we deserve. We continue being the team that scores more goals.
“We defended very badly in the last game but we have the fifth (best) defence in the Premier League. We are the team that always have the most possession in every game.
“We have to be clear why we are not having the most results, which mistakes we are making.
“Two or three balls change the performance of the whole team, so it is very important to have the correct ‘diagnostic’ about the team, about what we must change, what we must do in the future.”Pellegrini has been asked questions about his future constantly over the last month, and not qualifying for the Champions League would only add to the pressure on his position, but he remains positive City will at least keep hold of their top-four place – they are four points ahead of Liverpool with six games left.
He added: “I don’t think in a negative way. We are still in the Champions League places.
“It’s easy for a big team not to be in it – United last year. There are four or five strong teams here.
“Of course it’s important for the project to be in the Champions League and I hope we will win on Sunday and be in the Champions League.”
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