EPL: Pellegrini won't write off Manchester City's title bid

London Manuel Pellegrini refused to write off Manchester Citys fading bid to retain the Premier League title despite a 21 defeat at Crystal Palace that left them nine points adrift of leaders ChelseaManuel Pellegrini PicAFPPellegrinis side have just seven games to close the gap and while City manager Pellegrini insisted he was happy with his sides performance at Selhurst Park on Monday their recent results suggest there is little chance of the champions reviving their challengeAn inconsistent display in south London condemned City to a third successive away loss in the league for the first time since 2011 and Pellegrinis team have now won just four of their last 11 league games However the Chilean says his immediate concern is Sundays derby clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford and not their prospects of overhauling ChelseaWe are not thinking about Chelsea and titles We go each game and try to win At the end of the season we will see Pellegrini said when asked about Citys hopes of winning the league Every point you drop makes it more difficult but its the same answer We are not thinking about the title Just about the next game at Old TraffordCitys failure to mount a more convincing title defence and the manner of their last 16 exit from the Champions League has raised questions about the managers future at the club But an unflustered Pellegrini said Im never concerned about my job Thats the only thing Im never concerned about I do my work and am very happy You maybe have a difficult season but you never worry about things like this Difficult momentsGlenn Murrays fifth goal in five games set Palace on course for the win in the 34th minute although Pellegrini and his players were convinced the effort should have been ruled out for offside Jason Puncheon added a second with a 48th minute freekick and while Yaya Toure gave City hope of a comeback with a 78th minute strike Palace repelled the visitors late pressureIn different moments in football you can win or lose I hope we continue playing like we did today and we are more lucky added Pellegrini Its difficult to understand the result We played a very good game from beginning to end had a lot of chances to score Crystal Palace scored the first goal which was clearly offside and then a beautiful freekickIts difficult to understand but football happens like this Palace manager Alan Pardew offered Pellegrini some hope the title race may yet produce some more twists and turns Its difficult now nine points the gap A long haul he said But psychologically for Chelsea with all the pack closing in on them the next defeat or draw for Chelsea will be a big test You wouldnt want to lose that kind of leadCity are going to have to play on that Theres a long way to go still a lot of points up for grabs But I can only look at us we came up against a committed team they werent lacklustre or poor They were very good and we had to ride our luck The win continued Palaces revival under Pardew and having established themselves in midtable the manager believes the club can now start looking towards next seasonWe have 39 points on the board so wed like to think well be back here in the Premier League next year he said My job gets more difficult now after beating the champions here Expectations will be higher We have to keep improving on it