Mancini in the dark over future after City hold talks with Malaga coach Pellegrini

By John Edwards

PUBLISHED: 22:00, 3 May 2013 | UPDATED: 22:00, 3 May 2013

Roberto Mancini faces an increasingly uncertain future at Manchester City after admitting he has received no reassurances over the club’s recent meeting with Manuel Pellegrini’s agent.

Pellegrini has emerged as one of the prime candidates to take over this summer, and Mancini might have expected an explanation from his City bosses after director of football Txiki Begiristain met the Malaga coach’s representative for lunch in Madrid.

But instead, asked whether chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak had set his mind at rest by telling him he would remain in charge, the City manager said: ‘Never, never. We don’t have to talk about this. We don’t have any problems. We have a good relationship. In two years, we have won three trophies, and now we have a chance for another one.

Centre of attention: Roberto Mancini admits he is in the dark over his Manchester City future

Second best: Manchester City failed to retain the Premier League title this season

‘If in three years I didn’t win, then OK, but we did a good job until now. We have a chance to win the FA Cup and are second in the table. After that, the chairman can take any decision about his manager, but at the moment, we don’t have any problem. I am frustrated, because I wanted to win a second Premier League. We had a chance, but sometimes you can do mistakes.

‘You should ask these questions to Txiki, but it is not important to me. I hope he had a good dinner.

 

Discussions: Txiki Begiristain (right) held talks with Manuel Pellegrini’s agent over dinner

Target: Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium

‘Over the last six months, people have written everything, starting with Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, then Pellegrini, Carlo Ancelotti and Brendan Rodgers. I know I work with serious people, like Khaldoon and Sheikh Mansour, but if there was another manager who won three trophies in two years, you would say nothing about him.’

Mancini is pressing ahead with plans for next season and would ideally like to bring in a striker, centre-back, defensive midfielder, playmaker and winger.

But with misgivings remaining about the way relationships have deteriorated with some senior players, he faces an anxious wait to discover whether his wishes will be met.