Battle of Rome! Manuel Pellegrini insists his job is safe even if Manchester City bow out to Roma in the Champions League

Jovetic and Manuel Pellegrini at a press conference ahead of the clash with Roma

Manuel Pellegrini has said that if Manchester City fail to qualify for the Champions League round of 16 tonight, his job will still be very much intact.

According to him, ‘It’s an important stage right at the beginning. But, as I said, our team doesn’t depend on a single player and I hope my players can prove it.

‘I think we will qualify but it has nothing to do with my future here,’ he added. ‘I never received any pressure from the club.

‘We started with a target of trying to qualify for the last 16. 

'We have a good squad but made a lot of mistakes in other games, especially against CSKA.

'Against Bayern we showed we are fighting to qualify and I am sure we will do it if we play a good game. It’s very important for the club to play in the next round.’

Wednesday evening is important for City for all kinds of reasons. Qualification for the next stage is important financially, for example.

It also matters in terms of their seeding for next year’s competition but, perhaps most significantly, it is important for the English champions’ self-respect and the manner in which they are viewed around Europe.