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MW 8 April 2015

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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 8 APRIL 2015 20 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Manuel Pellegrini shrugs off speculation about his future Manuel Pellegrini insists he is not concerned about speculation surrounding his future as Manchester City boss Roberto Donadoni does not expect to remain with Parma following their impending relegation to Serie B but has promised the stricken club will close out their doomed campaign "with dignity" THE reigning Barclays Premier League champions' hopes of re- taining the title were dealt anoth- er huge blow after a 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace left City down in fourth place, nine points adrift of leaders Chelsea. Speculation continues to mount that the Chilean will be replaced at the end of what is shaping up to be a disappointing season. But he said: "I'm not concerned about my job. That is one thing I am never concerned with. "I never have fear about it, I do my work, I'm very happy. The team may be have a difficult season but never worry about me. "We are not thinking about Chel- sea, or about the title. We are just trying to win our games." Goals from Glenn Murray and Jason Puncheon either side of half- time condemned City to defeat at Selhurst Park. There may have been a hint of off- side about Murray's goal, with both the striker and Scott Dann possibly just beyond the last man. However, if there were question marks about the first goal, there was nothing wrong with the second three minutes after the interval as Puncheon curled home a superb free-kick. Murray was also involved in con- troversy at the other end when the ball hit his arm in the area before Yaya Toure pulled one back for City. "It was a clear offside. Also it was a clear penalty," added Pellegrini. "But with the way we played we must win this game." By contrast it was another big scalp and a memorable night for Palace, whose revival under man- ager Alan Pardew shows no sign of letting up. "It was a huge night for us; the champions under pressure playing at our place," said Pardew. "We had some scary moments - I counted about 23 - but we held out. They kept coming at us, they got a great goal and I feared they might take a draw but it was our night. "We had a couple of breaks to- night - the goal looked offside - but I felt we deserved them." Parma will finish the season "with dignity" - Donadoni THE Gialloblu are 16 points shy of safet y with only 11 games left to play - the first on that list sees Udinese travel to the Ennio Tar- dini in a rearranged match, as Parma's financial strife meant they could not fulfil the original fixture. Descent to the second tier is im- minent but performances have improved, with Donadoni 's men holding Inter Milan to a 1-1 draw at San Siro last time out. The former AC Milan midfield- er will not make a decision on his future until the end of season and until then he insists his respon- sibilit y remains keeping morale as high as possible in the Tardini changing room. He told fcparma.com: "I'm not in a position to assess my own fu- ture. All I know is that, just like everyone here, I've made an enor- mous effort this year and I don't want to experience what Parma have gone through again. "I understand the fans' disap- pointment, and I can only ask them to stand by us when we play, which is important. "Out on the pitch, we will close out this season with dignit y. What happens off the field does not matter." Midfielders Jonathan Biabiany and McDonald Mariga are una- vailable due to injury while Udi- nese are missing the suspended duo of Giampiero Pinzi and Ivan Piris. Defender Maurizio Domizzi remains on the treatment table. The Bianconeri also secured a 1-1 draw last weekend, holding mid-table Genoa at the Marassi, and head coach Andrea Stramac- cioni is now keen to deliver a first victory in four attempts. He told the Gazzetta dello Sport: "On Wednesday we must recover against Parma as we have an opportunit y to pick up some points. "Our goal is to secure our league status as soon as possible and then we can think about building for the future." Roberto Donadoni

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