Manchester City: Manuel Pellegrini to change playing style
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says one of the reasons he was appointed was to create an attractive playing style.
The 59-year-old Chilean left Spanish club Malaga to succeed Roberto Mancini as City boss.
Speaking to the media for the first time since his appointment in June,Pellegrini said: "Man City fans will see a different way of playing than they have seen in other years.
"We will try to be an attractive team."
Mancini was sacked on 13 May, a year to the day after he won the Premier League with City.
Despite winning the league title and FA Cup during three-and-a-half years in charge, Mancini was criticised at times for a defensive style of play.
Pellegrini said: "One of the reasons I am here is for the way we play."
The Chilean, nicknamed 'The Engineer' because he has studied engineering, did not elaborate on how exactly he wanted City to play.
But Pellegrini is renowned for being flexible with his tactics, and successfully so.
In the away leg of last season's last-16 Champions League clash against Porto, his attacking Malaga side stayed rigid to the defensive 4-5-1 formation - and only conceded one goal.
Pellegrini then altered the system for the second leg to 4-2-3-1 - as goals from Isco and Roque Santa Cruz gave Malaga a 2-0 win on the night, and a 2-1 aggregate victory to secure their spot in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, the new City boss insisted that neither he nor the club had prioritised winning the Premier League over the Champions League.
The 2011-12 league champions finished 11 points behind rivals Manchester United in the race for the title, and failed to progress past the group stages in the Champions League.
"We don't prioritise one more than the other," added Pellegrini. "Man City need to improve on how they've performed in the Champions League, while the Premier League is very important."
The manager also said that the battle for Premier League honours next season was not simply between the Manchester sides.
"We have United, Chelsea, Tottenham - five or six teams who are trying to win the league. We will try to repeat what we achieved two seasons ago."
Pellegrini, who sat alongside £30m midfield signing Fernandinho as he faced the media, said he was looking to recruit another striker.
He added that he would discuss the futures of the players he has inherited from Mancini next week.
"We need a very good squad," he said. "Next week, we'll see about different players (in the current squad)."
Fernandinho, brought in from Shakhtar Donetsk before Pellegrini was officially installed as manager, said he hoped to build a good bond with the Chilean.
"I spent eight years with the same manager [Mircea Lucescu at Shakhtar Donetsk] and the relationship was great," said the Brazilian through a translator.
"I hope I can build a great relationship with Pellegrini."
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