Manuel Pellegrini should get credit he deserves if Manchester City win title | Jonath

[Jonathan Wilson]

Some will claim rivals' failings ensured he won it by default but if the Chilean wins the Premier League it will be with much dignity, on the back of a willingness to adapt while reviving careersAssuming Manchester City earn the point they need against West Ham United on Sunday, this will be Manuel Pellegrini's first league title since collecting the clausura with River Plate in Argentina in 2003. There will be those who suggest he has won it almost by default, merely by not falling over as Chelsea and Liverpool suffered unexpected defeats, but winning titles is often as much about that as it is about the glamorous wins in the landmark games.
And if there has been an element of fortune about this championship, if it does feel it has been won as much by slips from César Azpilicueta and Steven Gerrard and by the non-stop running of Yannick Bolasie and the unexpectedly cool finishing of Dwight Gayle as by the quick feet of David Silva and the precision and languid power of Yaya Touré, then Pellegrini may see it as recompense for 2009-10 when he led Real Madrid to a record points tally, despite an impossible political situation within the club, but lost the Spanish title by default because Barcelona were going through a phase of ludicrous excellence.
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