Pellegrini’s future awaits at Theatre of Dreams

Do Manchester City have the stomach for a fight?

Without the slightest trace of mischief, Ryan Giggs once looked me in the eye and said his entire summer holidays were completely ruined if Manchester United didn’t win at least one trophy. I chuckled. He didn’t.

The Welsh wizard meant it, and that’s a sign of true hunger for success. And it’s at least in part one of the reasons why Giggs is the most decorated player in the history of English football. Never at any stage did he have the slightest inclination to relax or rest on his laurels.

Do Manchester City’s players have that same thirst to taste glory, over and over again? Will it hurt Manuel Pellegrini and his staff just as much if they end this season with a whimper?

Based on what we’ve seen from the defending champions in recent weeks, I’m not entirely convinced.

Just as they did the season after winning the title in 2012, they’ve ambled along, lacking the resilience and get-up-and-go to resuscitate a flagging season. Now fourth, having lost three of their last five matches, City’s battle appears to be for places, rather than silverware.

There’s nothing quite like a local derby to refocus a team’s attention though, and by tomorrow night we should at least find out one way or the other if they have the stomach for that kind of fight.

It’s a match they simply have to get themselves up for. Failure to produce a performance at Old Trafford will, in all likelihood, cost Pellegrini his job at the end of the season. As brilliantly as the Chilean did in his debut campaign, patience is beginning to wear thin.

While I sense there’s enough goodwill within the Etihad hierarchy to give him another year to turn things around, the owners need to urgently see that the fire is still raging within.

Win, lose or draw, the Chilean always has a calm persona, but if his side can’t regain their spark against their biggest rivals, they may view their boss as somewhat of a lost cause, yesterday’s hero.

The players must show they’re willing to fight for the shirt too. At the highest level of football, a multi-billion dollar industry, sentiment wears thin. They may have won two Premier League crowns in three years, but a clear out is imminent.

Which of them wants to prove they still have Giggsy’s passion to drive on and win much, much more?

One thing is guaranteed. If City can’t awaken from their stupor, Manchester United are in trim enough shape to compound their misery. They have a great opportunity to reclaim the bragging rights they lost four derbies ago in April 2013.

After months of experimentation, Louis van Gaal has finally stumbled across a formula that wins matches AND excites the fans, and for this reason the Theatre of Dreams will be bouncing with optimism ahead of kick-off.

At left-back, Daley Blind’s lack of pace hasn’t been the problem fans feared it might. Instead, he’s linked beautifully with Ashley Young — and late on in games with Angel di Maria — down the left flank, supplying beautiful balance.

In midfield, each of the three incumbents suddenly seems at home doing their jobs.

Michael Carrick is revelling in the sitting role, drawing deserved praise for his crisp forward passing. Ander Herrera has learnt to break into the box at the right times to score goals, just like Bryan Robson did in the red of United all those years ago, and the previously unpopular Marouane Fellaini is now undroppable according to his manager.

His physicality is a useful tool without the ball, and then once United break wide, the fuzzy-haired midfield monster offers a unique threat inside the box from crosses.

It’s a basic rather than pretty role, but his willingness to stride forward means Wayne Rooney isn’t left isolated in the box.

And Rooney himself looks far happier as the lone forward. Full of skill and running, the United skipper is comfortably keeping Radamel Falcao out of the starting line-up. Robin van Persie will also have to wait for his chance to shine, too, on his return from injury.

Manchester United are in a happy place, and tactically the manager has found the right groove. The famous United tempo has returned, and it’s lifted spirits no end. Fans shouldn’t get carried away, but the green shoots of recovery have at least begun to bloom.

City’s mood is flat. During defeats to Liverpool, Burnley and Crystal Palace, they lacked substance, and Pellegrini’s tactics have also come under scrutiny.

For this match, he needs to drop his preferred 4-4-2. Sergio Aguero hasn’t scored in open play for almost two months as part of a strike duo, and 11 of his 17 goals have been netted at a time when he’s led the line on his own. It’s time to go back to that.

A midfield pairing of Yaya Toure and Fernandinho doesn’t offer City’s defence a great deal of protection either. If James Milner or Fernando aren’t brought in to beef up the engine room, they could easily get overwhelmed.

Pellegrini has some big decisions to make, but the most important choice of all is a straightforward one: How badly does he want to cling on to his job, and win more trophies with Manchester City?

The club’s fiercely ambitious ownership don’t want to see a manager and team that’s happy to saunter along, until it’s time for them to hit the beach this summer. They want to see a group that’s desperately craving further success. If they can’t show it tomorrow night, perhaps it’s left them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Adrian Clarke is a former Arsenal midfielder who has played at every level of English football. Now an experienced sports journalist, he writes for publications around the world. Follow him on Twitter @adrianjclarke.

TV TIMES:

Saturday

Swansea v Everton (7.45pm Singtel Ch102, StarHub Ch227)

Southampton v Hull (9.50pm Singtel Ch104, StarHub Ch 229)

Sunderland v Crystal Palace (9.50pm Singtel Ch106 StarHub Ch231)

Spurs v Aston Villa (10pm Singtel Ch 102, StarHub Ch227)

West Brom v Leicester (9.50PM Singtel Ch105, StarHub Ch230)

West Ham v Stoke (9.50pm Singtel Ch103, StarHub, Ch 228)

Sunday

Burnley v Arsenal (12.30am Singtel CH102, StarHub Ch227)

QPR v Chelsea (8.30pm Singtel Ch102, StarHub Ch227)

Man Utd v Man City (11pmSingtel Ch102, StarHub Ch 227)