MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini believes he was under more pressure when he first arrived in England than he is now and warned the answer to Manchester City's problems might not be to change the manager.
City's title challenge has ended and they have crashed out of the Champions League as they have lost six of their past eight games.
But while it is looking ever likelier that Pellegrini could be relieved of his duties at the Etihad Stadium in May, he believed it was harder for him personally last year.
"It is the worst period in results because we lost the last four games we play away in the Premier League and 2015 has been a very bad year," he said in a news conference.
"Last year was more pressure when I arrive to the Premier League and we were fighting for the title. The pressure was more important."
Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola is thought to be City's long-term target to replace Pellegrini and the Premier League champions are not interested in Jurgen Klopp, who has announced he will leave Borussia Dortmund.
But plenty of other managers have been linked with the City job and while Pellegrini accepts that will happen, he warned that change is not always beneficial.
He added: "Every time you manage an important club, not just here in Manchester City, but in every big club, if you don't have the results the club deserves, everyone is talking to change the manager, [whether it is] here, in Spain, in Italy, in other parts of the world so you must be used to the rumours, but I trust a lot in the work I do.
"Of course nobody is happy when you are out of the fight for the title. Maybe you cannot win the title every year but it is very easy to sack the manager. I don't think it is the correct diagnostic for every team."
Pellegrini is expected to face an end-of-season inquest with City's owners but said there is no point to pre-empt that as they could finish anywhere between second and eighth.
"Every time you finish the season you must analyse," he explained. "I don't think if we lost the next six games it will be the same analysis as if we win the next six games. Maybe winning the six games you finish second, maybe losing the six you finish eighth, so it is impossible to make the same analysis."
Pellegrini feels it is crucial that City, who are fourth, do not drop out of the top four, adding: "I think that for every big team it is very important to be involved in the Champions League."