David Connolly thinks Manchester City's under-fire manager Manuel Pellegrini still has the backing of his players, but reckons the club's recent signings may come back to haunt them.
The Premier League champions are six points off leaders Chelsea, who have a game in hand with 10 matches to go, and City crashed out of Europe at the hands of Barcelona last night.
That all inevitably leads to mounting speculation about Pellegrini's job security, but former Ireland striker Connolly told Newstalk's Oisin Langan this morning: "He does seem to have the backing of his players, unlike [his predecessor, Roberto] Mancini.
Pellegrini said I can't believe we're out of the Champions League. I said It's OK we can concentrate on the league now. He said You're right
— Boring James Milner (@BoringMilner) March 18, 2015
"You don't hear too many stories coming out of players being unhappy with him.
"Maybe [the club are] not quite sure tactically about him whether he has quite got it. And he has come up short against the big sides, particularly in Europe.
"But for me he's got the age and experience to deal with top players."
Listen to David Connolly with Oisin here:
However, the former Sunderland and Wimbledon striker added: "I don't feel their signings have been totally great; if you look at [Wilfried] Bony, I don't think he's going to be the answer in Europe.
"When you step up, I'm just not sure the likes of Fernandinho and Bony are going to take them to that next level."
Pellegrini complaining about lack of winter break. City used a week off in January to go to Abu Dhabi - then lost to Middlesbrough in FA Cup
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) March 18, 2015
The 41-times capped former Ireland striker added: "And now they can't spend with the [Financial Fair Play] restrictions in place. I think they've made a couple of mistakes in the transfer market that will come back to haunt them."
Connolly also reckons Barcelona have finally found their "balance" under Luis Enrique, and admitted Messi is back to his best.
