Pellegrini in for stinging criticism after Middlesbrough defeat.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has been branded an amateur by top conditioning expert Raymond Verheijen after the manner of his side’s FA Cup exit to Championship side Middlesbrough, the Sun reports.
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The Chilean tactician, whose side are not in the best of form at the moment, is feeling the heat after his City side were dumped out of the FA Cup by lower-league opposition for the second season in a row.
Pellegrini is even more under the spotlight due to traveling with City for a friendly to Abu Dhabi just 20 hours prior to this game at the Etihad Stadium, which will have affected his players’ condition, according to Verheijen.
Explaining in great detail why this was a poor decision by the former Real Madrid manager, the Dutchman talked about the air pressure on the plane journey, as well as the effect of sitting down for so long on various joints.
“Only amateurs make decisions like this,” he said.
“If you fly for several hours then you will have problems with dehydration. The air on a plane is unhealthy.
“Part of the flight you have to sit with bended knees and that shortens the length of your hamstrings.
“You increase the risk of injuries. It also causes fatigue and flying within 24 hours of a match means you will lower your energy levels.
“What kind of signal does that send out to the players? You are compromising the preparation of the players and that is why you will have an average match. It’s amateurish.
“They clearly underestimated Middlesbrough. Would they have done this if they were playing Chelsea or Manchester United? I don’t think they would.”