Manuel Pellegrini extends contract until 2017, speaks on players fitness

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini speaks at the press conference Friday August 7 ahead of West Brom vs Man City opening match 8:00 PM on Monday August 10 of the 2015/16 season.

"I am proud to manage Manchester City FC and am therefore very pleased to have agreed this contract,'' Pellegrini said posted on the club's official website. ''The contract shows the club trusts in my work.''

"We are delighted to reach this agreement with Manuel Pellegrini who has already contributed so much to the development of Manchester City in his first two years with us and we look forward to further progress in the seasons ahead,'' Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive Officer of Manchester City Football Club said. ''This agreement allows Manuel to focus on the challenge of guiding a team capable of both fighting  for domestic titles and competing for European honours."

Here's what the 61-year-old Chilean football manager had to share with reporters about his players fitness at the press conference on Friday.

"I think that the only players who will not be fit for Monday are Clichy and Delph,'' he said. ''Clichy has an ankle problem. All of the other players are fit. Aguero is working at 100% and so is Silva – Nasri is just returning. We were not a disaster defending last season but conceding 38 is too much – you can only afford 31 or 30 if you want to win. Maybe the South American players are not 100% fit to start the season but they are working very well. Bony does not depend on what happens with South American players – he’s a very good player and will be important for us. I trust in Raheem – maybe the media talk about the price but he's a young English player with speed and technical ability. Playing with Yaya, Silva and Kun will help Raheem to improve. I trust he will score more goals here than he did before. For me the first season was more difficult than last. We had to replace a manager that the fans loved who had won titles. Last season was strange what happened after January. I hope this year we return to being a successful winning team."

The Chilean's previous deal was due to expire next year, but he will now remain in charge of the 2013-14 Premier League champions for the next two seasons.

Former Malaga and Real Madrid boss Pellegrini became City manager in June 2013, replacing Roberto Mancini.