Manchester City full-back Pablo Zabaleta has said that manager Manuel Pellegrini deserves more respect as intense speculation about his future continues.

City have had a torrid second half of the season and sit 10 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, and Zabaleta insists that the players need to take their share of the blame.

He told reporters: "The manager deserves more respect from everyone. He came here last season, he won the league and the Capital One Cup. We cannot blame just the manager for this moment. Individual players have also not been great in the whole season.

"Everyone is responsible - when you don't win titles it can be a little bit frustrating for everyone. Now is not the time to be thinking about what went wrong this season, it's just the time to finish as good as we can. Then we'll see what happens.

"It's not for me to say what should and should not happen. For the players, the owners, the manager and the staff, we are 100% focused on what we are doing now."

City next face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.