MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini has insisted he does not need to win a trophy this season to keep his job as Manchester City manager.
Pellegrini's position has come under scrutiny after City lost their last two games and it is thought he could be fighting for his job if they do not retain their Premier League title or qualify for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The Chilean's predecessor, Roberto Mancini, was sacked when City finished second and ended the 2012-13 campaign without any silverware.
And City are now five points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, after playing a game more, and face an uphill struggle to progress in the Champions League after a 2-1 home defeat to Barcelona after the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.
But while chief executive Ferran Soriano set a target in 2013 of winning five trophies in as many seasons, Pellegrini is adamant that does not mean he needs silverware this campaign to be at the Etihad Stadium again next year.
"No. I never have any pressure to win the amount of titles and to win a title every year if I want to continue here," he told a news conference.
"I don't feel any pressure, especially from the media. When I signed the contract, I was never told I must win a title every year or that I must win five trophies in five years. It was [just] a sentence of Ferran. That is perfectly normal. But maybe you can win two in one year and one in another and two in another.
"You never know in football. There are different ways to analyse the season. The title is important but it is not the only important thing."
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti and Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone have been linked with the City job, with Soriano and sporting director Txiki Begiristain are known admirers of their former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.
But Pellegrini said he does not waste his time thinking about the future and said that it is an approach that has served him well in his long management career.
"I only think about the present," he added. "You never know what will happen in the future. You don't know if we are going to win against Barcelona or be out of the Champions League.
"Maybe last year nobody would say we are going to win the Premier League. To think about the future is the worst thing because you are just speculating about a lot of things. It is important to live in the present. I have 25 years' experience of management at important clubs and I never feel the pressure."