Skip to content

Manchester City may fall out of title race, says Graeme Souness

Kelechi Iheanacho (L) and Sergio Aguero (R) of Manchester City show their frustration
Image: Manchester City lost 3-1 to Leicester on Saturday

Graeme Souness fears Manchester City will fall out of the title race after it was confirmed manager Manuel Pellegrini is leaving this summer.

Pellegrini announced last Monday that he would depart at the end of the season, with Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola named as his replacement - and then on Saturday City lost a vital top-of-the-table clash to Leicester.

Pellegrini's side have dropped to fourth place - six points off the leaders - following the weekend fixtures and Souness says the managerial situation will have an impact on results.

He told Sky Sports: "Announcing that the manager is going at the start of February isn't a good thing. It can't be a good thing.

"It wouldn't surprise me if City fall away now. The speculation was there and has been there for years - poor Pellegrini has lived with it for a couple of years.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The Times' Oliver Kay thinks Manchester City's announcement was right

"There will be elements in that dressing room that can't be happy because they're not playing all the time, so for him to go... they'll be rejoicing in that, quietly.

"That will have an influence. It's not a healthy situation and it's just not something we are used to in this country."

Also See:

Manchester City were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Leicester on Saturday with Pellegrini insisting he was unhappy with the performance

Manchester City's manager Manuel Pellegrini shouts instructions
Image: Manuel Pellegrini will leave City in the summer

And Souness says that's an indication of a lack of passion among the players.

He added: "They were playing against a team that were their biggest rivals. If they defeat them on Saturday they were [level on points with them].

"It wasn't any team they were playing, it was Leicester and if they are going to win it they know they have to do the business on that day.

They went in there without any passion or any fight. I think that's disturbing.
Graeme Souness

"They went in there without any passion or any fight. I think that's disturbing. On no level can the management situation have helped on any level on Saturday."

However, City are still involved in four competitions this season and fellow Sky Sports pundit Thierry Henry says they can look at the example of Bayern Munich, who won the German League, the German Cup and the Champions League in 2013, despite knowing Jupp Heynckes was leaving.

Henry said: "We knew he was going to retire and Pep was going to take the job - and they went on to win the treble.

Live Ford Super Sunday

"Different circumstances because they were already on [a good] run, but I think you have a job to do whoever is going to come or not come next year.

"You need to perform and the way they played against Leicester wasn't the type of performance you want to see."

Around Sky