We aren’t a dirty team insists Pep
PEP GUARDIOLA’S transformation from the king of tiki-taka to defensive master will be complete if Manchester City keep a club-record seventh consecutive Premier League clean sheet at home against Southampton today.
City have conceded only three goals in 10 league matches this season. In Guardiola’s debut campaign theylet in 39.
The City coach puts the change down to competition for places, a willingness to defend from the front and a detemination to win the ball back as quickly as possible.
He vehemently denies Gary Neville’s claim that City are masters of the dark arts — illegally stopping opponents’ quick counter-attacks.
‘I’m not disclosing a secret when I say that when the opponent has the ball, we’re going to push them; press them to regain the ball to attack more,’ he says.
‘Sometimes they dribble, you arrive late and you’re down and make a foul. So, yeah, it happens — I’m not saying we don’t make fouls. But the intention to do something [deliberately), no. I can assure you, never in my life in one meeting or one idea did I say to my players, ‘You have to do that to make problems to the opponents”.
Having got that off his chest, Guardiola is happy to provide insight into why City are stopping teams week-in, weekout. The last Premier League side to score against them were Newcastle United on September 1.
John Stones and Aymeric Laporte, both 24, have wrested the starting positions from Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi, although Guardiola believes it’s the strength of his squad which keeps the first XI on their toes. ‘The best competition is not the opponents but the men beside you.One of the secrets of being consistent for more than one season is all the players feeling: “Wow, I have to play good” because the other ones are so good.’
Perhaps Guardiola’s most impressive achievement is getting players such as Sergio Aguero to buy into the philosophy of defending from the front.
‘The period is over when you have a striker who will score a goal when the ball comes to them, but has a coffee when the opponent has the ball.
‘That time is finished.’ Everybody in the big clubs fights and we have to be part of that. In the big teams you need