Manuel Pellegrini eyes trophy-laden finish to Manchester City tenure
Sunday 28 February 2016 08:05, UK
Manuel Pellegrini hopes a Capital One Cup final victory can propel Manchester City towards Premier League and Champions League glory.
City and Liverpool go head to head at Wembley on Sunday for the right to lift this season's first major piece of silverware.
Pellegrini's first honour with City was the League Cup in 2014, where his side beat Sunderland 3-1 before going on wrestle back the Premier League title from city rivals Manchester United.
Live Capital One Cup Final
The last two winners of this competition have gone on to be crowned league champions and Pellegrini, whose side currently sit six points off leaders Leicester, hopes a Wembley victory will lead to more trophies at home and on the continent.
"I just hope to win the Capital One Cup on Sunday," the City boss said. "After that we have to return to the Premier League where we have to play for a possible 36 points.
"We are six points off the lead, that's an important advantage but it's not decisive. Everyone that knows the Premier League knows that anyone can beat anyone.
"I am sure all the teams in front of us will lose some points between now and the end of the season so we are not going to give up until the end.
"We are aiming to reach the final in the Champions League too - we made a big step towards the quarter-finals this week [with victory at Dynamo Kiev].
"So we are going to continue being our best to be successful between now and the end of the season."
Pellegrini's tenure as City manager is slowly winding to an end, with Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola's imminent summer arrival drawing ever closer.
Sunday's final presents the Chilean with perhaps a final chance to win a trophy at the end of a largely successful spell at the Etihad Stadium.
Brought in to replace Roberto Mancini, Pellegrini's appointment at City in 2013 instilled an air of calmness to a club where chaos was once rife, but now he hopes to end the season with one final flourish.
"One of my targets when I arrived here was to improve this club," he added. "People tend not to give praise to this club because everyone always talks about the money.
"You don't need money to be a big club, you need tradition and experience in different competitions.
"Before I arrived, this club had never qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League. We were unlucky last year when we drew Barcelona in the last 16 but this year I hope to reach the quarter-finals.
"I have the chance to win three titles [before leaving]. The most important thing is not just to win the titles, it's the style in which we win those titles.
"We scored the most goals in the three seasons I have been here and I am sure fans know those things. They enjoy every time we play in the correct way, so it is important to win but in the correct style."
Watch Liverpool v Manchester City in the Capital One Cup final live on Sunday, 4.30pm, Sky Sports 1 HD.
