Man City 'fall short of standards' to miss out on Europe

Interim Manchester City boss Nick Cushing says his side have "fallen short of standards and expectations" after they missed out on a Champions League place.

Fourth-placed City needed to beat rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford to keep alive their hopes of European football next season, but drew 2-2 after leading 2-0 in the first half.

Cushing, who managed City from 2013-2020, took over on an interim basis until the end of the season following Gareth Taylor's sacking in March and was tasked with steering the club to a top-three finish.

"When I took this role on, it was about winning trophies and qualifying and we haven't been able to be able to deliver that," he said.

"We have been a team that has delivered trophies consistently over a seven-year period when I've been involved. This team should always be delivering trophies and competing in the Champions League.

"The league position is far below what I expect, but we are not that far away."

Victory over third-placed United would have taken City to within one point of them in the table and set up an exciting finish to the race for European football on the final day of the season. City host already-relegated Crystal Palace on 10 May, while United visit second-placed Arsenal.

Last year City pushed Chelsea all the way in an enthralling title race - coming second only on goal difference - but will end this season with no silverware and no European football.

They also went out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage to United, while Chelsea dumped them out of the Champions League quarter-finals and beat them in the League Cup final.

Their campaign has been blighted by injuries, with captain Alex Greenwood, winger Lauren Hemp, forward Vivianne Miedema and top goalscorer Khadija Shaw all enduring long stints on the sidelines.

"We're trying to build a puzzle here with a piece missing," added Cushing. "We are forever trying to complete it, but it has been tough with all the players injured."

City defender Laia Aleixandri, who has often played out of position this season because of the injury issues, said: "Difficult situations, a lot of injuries, but that's not a reason to give up. We tried until the last minute, we need to keep going, we need to get better.

"Sometimes when there's obstacles we need to get together and not give up. We will be better and we will be a winning team I'm sure."

Dwelling outside of the Champions League places is unfamiliar territory for Cushing, who led City to their first and only WSL title in 2016 along with four other major trophies.

"It's painful," he admitted. "I said to the group, this falls below the standards we set at the start of the season and what we expect, but it's football and it's been a challenging moment."

Whether the 40-year-old will remain at City beyond the end of this season remains to be seen, but the club have said they would be open to it.

The former New York City FC boss was brought back to Manchester to try to instil some stability and there were positive signs, but ultimately he did not have enough time to turn things around.

"I will be involved in the review process because this team is engrained in me. Unless told they don't want me involved, I will be involved," added Cushing when asked about his City future.

"This team will be forever engrained in me. I have an emotional connection to it. It is a team I have followed throughout my time in America.

"There has been no conversations from myself either. We have been concentrating on the challenges we have had and we have had many things to focus on."