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Manuel Pellegrini certainly appeared to be at his most relaxed and confident after the announcement of his extended contract.

His new deal will, if he sees it to completion, take him through to summer 2017 as Manchester City boss.

And while it will change some things, his determination to win trophies for the club, and the fact that he will by judged upon how successful that mission is, has not altered.

His new contract displays the club’s faith in him and gives him authority over his players.

To have gone into the campaign with a ‘dead man walking’ tag would have made the job of motivating his men all the more difficult.

An unnecessary hindrance for the manager and counter-productive for the club.

It may limit, if not completely remove, the incessant talk of Pep Guardiola taking over as Blues manager.

The Spaniard isn’t exactly in a hurry to nail his colours to the Bayern Munich mast, which means he will still be lurking around in the shadows.

And the Blues hierarchy aren’t ready to rule out a future that includes the former Barcelona man, whether it comes next summer or the one after.

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Pellegrini’s deal means they will back him at least until the end of the campaign that is about to get under way. The rest is up to him.

Another season like the last will surely mean the sack - new contract or not.

Another title and some success in the Champions League will give him a chance to keep on going.

Judging by his demeanour at his press conference yesterday, Pellegrini seems quite relaxed about taking on the challenge.