Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says he is under no pressure from the club's owners to retain the Premier League title this season.
The City boss is coming under increasing pressure after his side suffered back-to-back defeats to Barcelona and Liverpool, denting both their hopes of progressing in the Champions League and defending their Premier League title.
The Chilean won both the league and the Capital One Cup in his first year in charge at the Etihad Stadium, but is on course to end the current campaign without silverware.
They have only won two of their last nine games in all competitions and have managed five Premier League points fewer, scoring 14 goals less, than at the equivalent stage of last season.
"But at the end of the season is when you analyse," Pellegrini said in a pregame news conference ahead of Wednesday's visit of Leicester.
Pellegrini believes he does not need to win a trophy to keep his job, but said the key factor in his departure would be if City were not playing his brand of football.
"You can win titles but if you are not happy with the way you are playing then you cannot continue as a manager," he said. "Sometimes you cannot win the title and continue working without any problems. All this speculation about the future... but I am not worried about the future, I am worried about the present."
Pellegrini defended his attacking gameplan by insisting it will produce more silverware, adding: "I prefer my style because I think you win more titles this way."
The former Real Madrid, Malaga and Villarreal manager has a good relationship with City's chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak, chief executive Ferran Soriano and sporting director Txiki Begiristain.
But he feels that will have no bearing on whether he stays at the Etihad, and claimed City's powerbrokers are not fixated on silverware.
"It's not about relationships," he explained. "I can have a bad or a good relationship with the owners but it's a project and it's about how you manage this project. Every project can have difficult moments. I think you have the wrong opinion about the owners of this club.
"They are not so desperate to win titles, they want to improve. Maybe you are wrong about what I think. I want to win titles and I have done it in South America and here. But for me it's not just about winning titles. I can win the title [but] if I am not happy with my team I can't continue at a club. In my management, it's important how you win titles."
Pellegrini defended City's signings after they were criticised for not making enough of an impact and for not improving the club.
The 40 million-pound centre-back Eliaquim Mangala became the most expensive defender in the history of English football, while holding midfielder Fernando, right-back Bacary Sagna and reserve goalkeeper Willy Caballero were also recruited last summer.
"When you analyse the season last year we scored [almost] 160 goals," he said. "Having important restrictions about money and the number of players, it was important to try to have an alternative in defence. Joe Hart has improved because he has a more competitive player behind him like Willy Caballero.
"Bacary Sagna has maybe not played a lot but the times he's played he's done very well and we have another choice at full-back. We never had that option with Micah Richards because he was always injured.
"Javi Garcia wanted to go, we changed him for Fernando. He's had a normal performance. Maybe you can have some criticisms of Mangala but he's improving and he'll be an important player for this club in the future."
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