Guardiola concedes his side won’t be top dogs for ever

PEP GUARDIOLA accepts success does not last for ever and says he cannot guarantee that Manchester United won’t overtake his Treble-winning side while he is in charge. Jim Ratcliffe vowed that he and his Ineos team are working to knock Manchester City and Liverpool ‘off their perch’ in the next three years. While that seems unlikely, Guardiola praised Erik ten Hag’s ‘incredible’ United team and said he thinks success is cyclical. ‘The Eighties was Liverpool, Nineties was United and now we have won seven Premier Leagues in the last 11 or 12 years,’ Guardiola said. ‘In 50 or 60 years, there has never been one country where one team always dominates. We will try to extend this as much as possible for many years.’ Jose Mourinho’s second-placed finish with United in 2017-18 is the closest they have come to winning the title since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and Guardiola expressed sympathy for his rivals. ‘I would say at big clubs you have to win and win, not just United,’ he said. ‘It’s not easy for United to come from incredible success with Alex. I can understand it. Before in England, big clubs had more patience but today everyone has a lot of pressure.’ Jack Grealish, visibly emotional as he went off injured against Luton on Tuesday, is not going to be fit enough to play tomorrow. Guardiola, though, appeared relaxed ahead of what promises to be a crucial derby. Asked how he handles this occasion after years of experience, the City manager said: ‘Be calm, relax, don’t focus on many things but just about tactics and what you have to do to beat them. ‘Don’t talk about emotions because they will be there. ‘For United to go to Wolves and beat them and have the quality to beat Aston Villa a few weeks ago, they have incredible quality. When they play good, they are really good and are able to win games.’