Friday 12 December 2014 16:11, UK
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says winning the Premier League remains as important to him as success in the Champions League.
Pellegrini's side beat Roma in midweek to claim a place in the last 16 of Champions League - a feat which had seemed beyond them only a month ago.
City's Champions League revival, after they claimed just two points in their opening four matches of the competition, has raised hope they can make the impact in Europe they have long desired.
Yet while the ambition and the potential are clearly there, Pellegrini acknowledges there is still much for his team to prove.
He said: "I have always said to the players that for our club it is very important to continue in the Champions League, not just in the group stage, but that does not mean we don't care what is happening in the Premier League.
"The Premier League is as important as the Champions League.
"We must demonstrate also what we can do as a team.
"It is important for the team, for the trust of the team, and for the prestige of all the players to continue in the Champions League.
"But we now have nothing more to do in the Champions League until February so the most important thing is to try and win the next game, and after that we will see at the end of the year how important this team can be or how much the team can achieve."
City, who are in second place in the Premier League, travel to face bottom side Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Saturday and Pellegrini is keen to ensure there will be no complacency from his players.
The Chilean said: "Maybe it has been a difficult start for them but I think they are a very good team.
"They beat Man United and they lost against Liverpool, but in a game they played also very well.
"We are not thinking about which position they are in the table. We are thinking about if we want to win, we must play the same way we are doing in the last weeks."
Pellegrini also revealed that midfielder James Milner is poised to sign a new contract at the Etihad Stadium.
The news comes after goalkeeper Joe Hart admitted this week that he was also ready to sign fresh terms.
Pellegrini said: "Milner, I hope that he will sign also. We will see, same as Joe, in the next days.
"I don't know how many days before we can have this as official news but I suppose that also he will sign and continue here because he also wants to stay."
Pellegrini confirmed that a deal with Hart was close a week ago but he could not confirm when anything would be finalised, he added : "It is very close, I suppose.
"As you know, Joe wants to stay here. We also want him to be our goalkeeper so I hope it will be ready as soon as possible. I don't think that we are going to have any problems."
