Manuel Pellegrini has rued the decision to go public with the appointment of Pep Guardiola as his successor at Manchester City halfway through the season rather than wait until the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
City announced in February that Guardiola would replace Pellegrini as the man in charge ahead of the 2016-17 season when they were still fighting for the Premier League title, only to then lose against Leicester City, Tottenham and Liverpool in the following weeks.
Pellegrini has acknowledged it was his decision to confirm Guardiola’s move to City and has indicated he would take care of things differently if he could do it all over again.
“Yes, it was my decision [to go public with Guardiola’s appointment],” Pellegrini told The Guardian.
“After Guardiola said he was coming to England it was my decision [to go public] because all the media were talking about Guardiola here, Guardiola at Arsenal, Guardiola at Manchester United. It was not fair on all managers – when everyone knew he was coming here.
“If I ask myself if I would do that again, I have some doubts. I am very self-critical about what I do. Always. I don’t want to use [this] as an excuse but it was so difficult to work after that. Not for me, but for the players.
“It was my decision and it’s impossible to know if it was the right decision.
“But when you see that the consequence was losing three games in a row after we had won the last five or something…
“The most difficult thing in a group is when you break something. Something was broken in that moment so, as I say, the complete glass is broken. Then, you must try to rearrange it.”
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