Pellegrini needs Real time

Real Madrid boss Manuel Pellegrini could be on borrowed time in the Spanish capital after the midweek Champions League exit to Lyon, but the powers that be must surely give him more time.

Former Villarreal boss Pellegrini has only been at the helm since June 2009 and deserves a fair crack of the whip at the Bernabeu. It’s true Pellegrini was handed a huge pot of cash to spend and spent around €250 million as the Spanish giants attempt to build a squad capable of winning silverware.

However, despite the likes of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo signing, the club have once again failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League – losing 2-1 on aggregate to Lyon. It’s woeful in respect to the money spent, but Pellegrini needs time to mould his squad and enforce his style of play and ten months is certainly not long enough to do so.

It is the sixth successive year Real have failed to get beyond the last 16 in Europe’s top club competition, so things haven’t turned sour overnight under Pellegrini’s guidance. Since Vincente del Bosque was axed after winning the league title in 2003 they have won just two La Liga titles and two Spanish Super Cups. It’s a poor record and one which nine different managers, including Pellegrini, have been unable to address properly.

Pellegrini clearly needs time to impose himself on the club, but whether president Florentino Perez will give him that remains to be seen. Perez returned to power at the Bernabeu in the summer and after the big-money arrivals he was in bullish mood promising great things. However, with the Champions League gone I believe Pellegrini must now fend off Barcelona, who they are currently tied with at the top of the table, and win the La Liga title to save his neck.