Manuel Pellegrini declared himself pleased with his Malaga squad following Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Real Zaragoza.
The beleaguered Costa del Sol club has been put up for sale by Qatari owner Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani, with key players having been sold, yet the Chilean has steered his team to two away wins and a draw from the opening three fixtures.
Malaga sit in a provisional second place in La Liga before Sunday’s games and Pellegrini says he now has a balanced squad, having added Roque Santa Cruz, Javier Saviola, Oguchi Oneywu and Manuel Iturra to it.
“It has not been the best way of going about matters, racing against the clock and doing things in a hurry, but we finally have a competitive number of footballers,” he told a Press conference at La Romareda.
“We will assess the performance of each individual on a game-by-game basis, but we are happy with what we have, a very well-balanced squad that is able to compete in the three competitions we are involved in.”
Pellegrini believes Malaga’s financial woes could now be coming to an end and was glad no more players were sold before the end of the transfer window, despite an alleged offer from Athletic Bilbao for Nacho Monreal.
“I don’t think Monreal will leave,” he said. “Besides, the economic conditions mean we don’t have to sell our best players and it appears that is now the philosophy at this club.
“I am very happy with how the team is shaping up, not only this week but in the whole of pre-season.
“We isolated ourselves from all the problems, which has allowed us to start the season in this manner,” said the former Villarreal and Real Madrid boss.
