"I have been working away from my country for 20 years, and another 10 in my country before that, and I hope I will carry on for many more years," he said.

"Of course I hope to be working in my 70s – at 75-plus! If I am in good shape I will do it.

"In this profession the more experience you have the easier it is to analyse the game.

"If you ask me, I would prefer to be 10 years younger, but you can continue working in the same way if you keep yourself in good shape – and remain hungry to continue in work."

Pellegrini, whose first job in management was with Universidad de Chile in 1988, says one of the first things he learned was the importance of understanding human mentality.

It is something he is still practising 30 years on, it seems, in the case of Tuesday's two-goal hero against Cardiff, Lucas Perez.

The Spanish striker has yet to start a Premier League game since his summer switch from Arsenal but, having come off the bench for the injured Marko Arnautovic to great effect in midweek, he could be in line to face Palace.

However, Pellegrini hinted he has not been entirely convinced by 30-year-old Perez's application so far this season.

He added: "As a manager you must always be listening and be able to learn new things – and it is exactly the same for a player.

"You must be able to hear what a manager is telling you and if you don't you are not able to play. You may have the quality but you need to improve on other things.

"I think that Lucas has a lot of things to continue learning, but he now has the option to demonstrate that he is a player who has the level to play in the Premier League.

"It will now depend on what he does in the next games. Maybe better late than never."

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