Manuel Pellegrini blamed burnout for Manchester City's poor performance in their 3-0 defeat at Liverpool, but former City boss Stuart Pearce believes the managers feel every bit of that fatigue too.
Pearce, who was in charge at the Etihad Stadium from 2005 to 2007, told Sky Sports Now that being a football manager is one of the toughest jobs around.
"I think from a physical aspect, it's not so bad. But from a mental aspect, being a manager is one of the toughest jobs there is - and I include outside of the football environment," said Pearce.
"Every week you are in front of the media, that are either lauding you or alternatively trying to get you sacked.
"You are trying to deliver messages to your players, you've got to be the one that puts a smile on everybody's face even when you don't feel like it.
"It's a tough place to be for managers. They get paid very well to do so, but mentally, it's a very tiring job.
Pearce's comments come after Pellegrini said against Liverpool that he could "see the team was not fresh, and didn't recover from last week".
Pellegrini's team have played three games in the past week, including Sunday's Capital One Cup final and a Champions League tie in Ukraine against Dynamo Kiev last Wednesday.
Pearce believes that what modern-day managers have to deal with away from the football pitch is what makes the job so mentally draining.
"The things outside probably erode you just as much. They've got 60 or 70 players at Manchester United, some out on loan, and you've got to know them all - you've got be a counsellor to them all," added Pearce.
"You've also got to have good staff around you to take a workload off of you at times. People that you trust that can turn around and say, 'Take a day off today, I'll take training today'.
"The criticism that managers get when they go and have a week's break or take the team away - the manager needs that rest as much as the players do."