I could walk away admits Guardiola
PEP GUARDIOLA says he could become tired of winning at Manchester City.
Guardiola hopes to see out the new three-year contract he signed in the summer and remain at the Etihad longer than he has managed any other club.
But he walked away from his beloved Barcelona in 2012 because he grew tired and says he would speak to the City board if he lost his mojo again.
“Football trainers, always we are in a dangerous position,” he said. “But the family is happy living in Manchester, my experiences of the Premier League are good. I have a young team and I am comfortable working with them.
“But football, when you feel you are tired and the players don’t follow you…even if I have a contract, I will speak with the people about it and we will find a solution. But I’ll do my best to stay this time together.”
Guardiola claims his reign at City is also dependent on him winning more trophies.
“Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano know it depends on results,” he said. “Those results will dictate what will happen in the future.
“The most important thing is to arrive in April and May and be there for the title.”
Guardiola’s ability to keep his teams in the mix has raised the Premier League bar higher, which he feels is the reason Liverpool have splashed out £175million – including a world-record £65m for goalkeeper Alisson.
But he refused to criticise Jurgen Klopp for making a mockery of his claim two years ago “to do things different”, saying the Liverpool manager must do what he feels is best for his team. “Every club must do what they believe,” said Guardiola. “I understand completely and I am not concerned about what one of us says one day. It is a different set of circumstances.
“Liverpool believe they need these kind of players because it is best for them. I’m not going to judge what the others do.
“Last season we increased the levels of the Premier League to 100 points. We try to take the level higher and every team will try to do better and better.”
The pressure is now on Klopp and Liverpool to show they can challenge City and Guardiola expects them to be contenders, while he also believes Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and even West Ham will be stronger.
“Liverpool, with the history they have, they will be a contender,” he said. “United will be stronger, so will Chelsea, Tottenham and some of the others. Everton have appointed a good manager, West Ham – Manuel Pellegrini has come back and bought a lot of players.
“Always in the beginning, every team’s expectation is high. We just want to continue what we started two seasons ago.”
What Guardiola can confidently predict is that City will not match their exploits last season, when they set Premier League records for most points, wins and goals scored.
“We’re not going to break any more records in the league,” he said. “It’s impossible, almost impossible.
“The records we set were a consequence of what we did in every single game. The only way is to focus on the next game, next game, next game.”