MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini insists he is desperate to finish in a Champions League place, despite the fact that he's leaving Manchester City at the end of the season.
Pellegrini, who has just two games left in charge of the club before he is replaced by Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola in the summer, saw his last hopes of securing silverware ended on Wednesday when City were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.
And his side now must win their final two games of the season -- Sunday's match at home to Arsenal and next week's trip to Swansea City -- to be certain of a top-four finish.
Pellegrini rested several senior players, including Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany, in the Premier League defeat to Southampton ahead of the 1-0 loss at the Bernabeu, as Manchester United and West Ham United closed the gap on their fourth-placed spot.
However, the City boss insisted that the trip to St Mary's was the only time that he had prioritised Europe and that he is determined that Guardiola will take over a side with Champions League football next season.
"Of course it's very important to arrive in the Champions League," Pellegrini told the media at his news conference on Friday. "I finish my contract, but it's not something to worry about because I want to finish this season in the best way.
"After that I think we deserve to be in the Champions League next year. The whole season we've been in a Champions League spot from the beginning to the end.
"Continuing into the semifinals of the Champions League -- it's not easy to keep your mind on both competitions but I think we did it -- except the game against Southampton.
"If I was just worried about the Champions League I'd change [the team] for all the games, every important player. The last five games we won four and lost just one, that's why I'm absolutely interested."
Sunday's game at Arsenal will be Pellegrini's penultimate game in charge, and his final match at the Etihad.
But Pellegrini said that he must keep on top of his emotions, with Arsenal also needing a win to be sure of a Champions League place next season.
"It's a special game because we finish here at home after three intensive years," Pellegrini said. "We have always received support of the fans and we're really happy with the commitment of the players.
"We always had the feeling that we could have done more, but we've never had a season that was a disaster.
"As a manger you must always try to dominate your emotions. If you have to take a decision under emotion, the probability of making a bad decision is very high.
"Of course I have feelings, but I don't want to show them in an external way -- but of course it will be an emotional moment."