Manuel Pellegrini is totally convinced that Manchester City will be Champions of Europe.
However, this season he has set his sights only as high as progressing further than the last-16 elimination by Barcelona last time.
“I am absolutely sure we will do it,” he said. “It’s very important for this club to win the Champions League. We hope we will win it this season. But suppose we do? After that, it will be finished.
“It’s a good achievement, but then you must do something every year a Final, a semi-final.
“It’s not easy to win the Champions League. How many did Manchester United win in 26 years under Sir Alex Ferguson? Two. But it’s not the death of the club if we cannot do it this year.
“We must be very patient. The most important thing is that we are growing in all senses, not just trying to win titles.
“We are growing in having a better squad, and next month we will have a new training ground, which is very important in developing young players into the first team.
“It’s important to know what the project is, and this club is very clear about that. Winning the Champions League is, of course, part of the project, but we must also continue winning Premier League titles and FA Cups.
“Not every manager can win the Champions League. I was so near when I reached semi-finals with Villarreal and Malaga. I hope that some day I will do it.
“But a club must go step by step. I don’t think City have underachieved in the last three years. I think it was the normal growth of a team that started buying good players.
“But it is very important this season for City to improve in Europe. We have won the English title twice in three years, and in the other we were runners-up.
“We also won the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup, so in domestic competition we are doing as well as any other team in England. But I think if you want to be a really big team, you must be involved in both Europe and in the Premier League.”
After the last-minute defeat by Bayern Munich in their opening group game, Pellegrini knows his team can’t afford to lose to Roma on Tuesday, particularly after the Italians started with a 5-1 win over CSKA Moscow.
“Of course, if we don’t win it will be more difficult for us,” he admitted. “We will have just 12 more points to win but Roma will already have six points.
“But it’s very difficult for any team to play in Moscow. I still believe all three are our rivals in qualifying.”
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