Pearce - aiming for Euro qualificationManchester City manager Stuart Pearce has set his sights on taking the club into European competition as the countdown to the Premier League season continues apace.
Pearce led the Eastlands club to a disappointing 15th position last season but, after a busy summer in the transfer market, the former England international is hoping he can steer his team into the Premier League's top six and earn a berth in continental competition.
"I think always you have to look for a European place when you are in our position," said Pearce. "We are a big, big football club.
"It gets up my nose when people tell me they are big football clubs. All over the country people are telling me they're big clubs but I think you're only a big football club when the season ends and you look at the league position or what you have done in the various cup competitions.
"I don't have to sell Manchester City to players when I bring them in. I've signed an Italian centre forward (Bernardo Corradi) who has played in Spain and you can bring them in with our stadium. He's impressed with the training ground. The place sells itself.
"Now I would also like on my CV as a manager - as well as having 40,000 supporters every week, a stadium that's as good as anything in Europe and a training ground that's vastly improving and is as good as you're going to get in most places - I would like to say we are playing in Europe next year, and that's the one thing I can't deliver this year.
"I need to be able to do that next year. The extra revenue that will bring in will enable me to bring another calibre of player, it will add more money to the war chest to enable me to bring in more players."
Pearce has signed five players this summer already, snapping up Corradi, Dietmar Hamann, Ousmane Dabo and Paul Dickov while also encouraging Joey Barton and Micah Richards to extend their deals with the club.
The manager, however, expects there to be further arrivals before their season kicks off against defending champions Chelsea.
"We are hoping to add to that," he said. "The chief executive hasn't travelled on the trip because he is busy talking to the player at the moment so we would like to get one or two more in.
"We feel we have done good business to this stage but we would like one or two more areas in our squad to be covered."
Pearce is also hoping to convince French defender Sylvain Distin to stay, despite reports linking him with a move to Middlesbrough.
The former Newcastle defender has travelled with the rest of the squad to Shanghai, where City will meet former Chinese champions Shanghai Shenhua tomorrow before facing Japan's Kashima Antlers two days later.
"It's all talk and speculation," said Pearce. "Sylvain's with us on the trip. He's got a year to go and I think any player who gets within a year of their contract expiring, with the Bosman ruling nowadays, there's going to be speculation.
"I've said from whenever that I want Sylvain to remain part of the squad and I'd like him to extend his contract. We've made him a very good extension offer and the ball's in his court.
"I'd be delighted if he came to my room this evening and said I'd like to sign that contract you've offered me."
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