Blame me for City’s failings this season, says Guardiola
AFP PEP Guardiola says he has underestimated his Manchester City players at times this season, and should have shouldered more blame for his team’s recent shortcomings.
In a candid, revealing press conference yesterday that contrasted starkly with his tetchy behaviour and monosyllabic answers in the wake of Monday’s 2-1 win at home to Burnley, the City manager also admitted he was worried about the prospect of missing out on the top four and playing Europa League football next season.
Despite winning four of their past five games in the Premier League, City are fourth, trail leaders Chelsea by seven points and have looked largely indistinguishable from the side Manuel Pellegrini left behind in some recent matches, which culminated in a terse exchange with reporters after victory over Burnley.
But an open, conciliatory Guardiola adopted a very different tone ahead of his side’s FA Cup third-round tie away to West Ham United, when he claimed he harboured regrets over certain decisions and had been more at fault than the players.
“It’s natural for players to be relaxed so you have to be there to say, ‘You have to do it again and again and again’. But what I feel now – what I saw in the last few games – every time the situation is not going well, it’s my fault, not the fault of the players. That is my feeling now.
“The players have been amazing. We have changed many things about the way we’re going to play this season, so it was a special moment against Burnley.
“To see how they fought in such difficult circumstances [with 10 men for almost an hour after Fernandinho’s red card], it was so emotional for me as a coach.”
Guardiola had told NBC, the US broadcaster, that “the process of my goodbye has already started” and that he was “still approaching the end of my career as a manager”. But he sought to clarify those comments yesterday.
“I said in the interview I am not going to be training when I am 60 years old. But guys, I am 45.
“I am not going to retire in two or three years. I love my job and am in the perfect place to do my job, especially here in England.”
He defended his suggestion that City lacked the historical might of rivals such as Manchester United and Barcelona, but dismissed any notion that he meant the club could not compete with the elite now. “When I said compare history and titles with United and Liverpool, Barcelona and Madrid, that kind of club, we are behind,” he said. “If people don’t understand that, I am sorry.
“But City being less than the other ones? I never said that. We are going to fight until the end of the season for all the titles.”
He also admitted he fears missing out on Champions League qualification.
“I prefer to be worried about not making it [into the top four] than to be calm and relaxed that we’re going to do that, especially with these [league] contenders. Two of them are not going to qualify for the Champions League next season.” — The Daily Telegraph