A PEP TALK FOR CITY FANS
I know it’s expensive but fill Etihad as you are the reason we do our job
PEP GUARDIOLA has called on Manchester City fans to fill the Etihad for tonight’s derby showdown.
He questioned why so many stayed away from Sunday’s 4-0 FA Cup win over Fulham, with 39,223 at the 55,097 capacity stadium.
The Carabao Cup semifinal against Manchester United is not yet sold out, with around 51,000 expected to turn up.
City’s official fans’ group criticised Guardiola for his perceived failure to understand the financial pressure on supporters to attend every game.
But the City boss said he appreciated how expensive it is and admitted it is down to him and his players to make sure the ground is full.
“Of course I understand
It is up to us to play well and seduce the fans to come
it,” said the Spaniard. “Never was it my intention to offend the fans. They are part of us.
“Since I arrived here from day one, until the last day, what I want is to fight and play as good as possible to see the Etihad Stadium full every single game.
“It belongs to us to play good, to seduce them to come, because the only reason we do our job and I do my job is not for the titles.
“It’s to go to the Etihad Stadium and see it absolutely full with people enjoying games together, because when we win and they’re not satisfied, it’s not a reason to be there.
“I understand it’s difficult for people. It’s not necessary to tell me, because I was part of that when I was a little boy with mum and dad, so I know exactly what happens.
“It was my mistake that I thought, ‘Oh it’s Sunday, 1pm, today will be full’. I didn’t know it was BBC One, not Sky, so people can watch it and decide whether to go to the stadium or not.
“If it’s possible to be full for every single game, it will be better. I know for them it’s not easy, that’s why I will always be grateful to the support.”
Despite having a 3-1 lead from the first leg, Guardiola warned his players to be wary of United and their “weapons”, particularly after losing to their neighbours at the Etihad last month.
Old Trafford boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may be under pressure, with the Reds struggling in the Premier League, but Guardiola said: “Their team is good. They have weapons, an enormous big squad and quality there. They can do it. They have quality in the middle, especially with Mata, Lingard, they are big talents.
“They have incredible players up front. OK, no Marcus Rashford, but they have Martial and James, a good quality of players in the middle like Greenwood.
“At set-pieces they have Lindelof, Maguire, Matic, and strong, good full-backs with Wan-Bissaka and Shaw, and a good goalkeeper, who’s
an international. They have incredible weapons. When they defend deep, they can run in three or four seconds.
“We experienced that before, when they were incredible on the counter-attack.”
Although City created enough chances in the first leg to kill the tie, Guardiola wants his men to forget about those missed opportunities.
“I told the players to be calm because we created chances for 4-0 or 5-0, but afterwards the game was still open,” he said. “So just relax. The more important thing is to be calm and just focus on what we have to do.”