Monday 27 October 2014 12:34, UK
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is confident his team can handle the pressure of trying to sustain a successful defence of their Premier League crown.
City slipped to third after Saturday's 2-1 defeat at West Ham, but are only six points off leaders Chelsea after Robin van Persie's stoppage time equaliser earned Manchester United a 1-1 draw against them on Sunday.
After a midweek Capital One Cup tie against Newcastle, City will host local rivals United in the league at the Etihad Stadium and Pellegrini stressed his side would just carry on in the manner which saw them hunt down both Liverpool and Chelsea over the run-in last season.
"The pressure is to win the title, the pressure is to retain the title. My pressure, I think, is the best pressure for me," the Chilean said.
"We are in the third position of the table in this moment. We must continue playing as champions. Nothing happened (was decided) (at West Ham), in a game where we had four, five clear chances to score."
Pellegrini believes his side face no different challenges this season, despite the fact that they represent an even bigger scalp now they are defending champions.
"It is always hard to play in the Premier League," he said. "To defend the title, to try to win the title it is always very hard because all the games are very tough.
"We must continue working in the same way we are doing in the last year-and-a-half. At this moment we are defending better than at the same moment last season, but I think we must improve because we are conceding in this game one or two goals, which I think is too much.
"When I am talking about defence, I am talking about the whole team, I am not talking about one individual player."
Pellegrini admitted he has been impressed by Chelsea, but added: "We have 87 points more (to play for) to try and continue adding more points to our team.
"It is not only Chelsea, (but also) Arsenal, so we will see what they do in the future. At the final (game), the team that wins more points will be the champion."
