LATE SERGIO
Give Aguero time to hit top form says Pep
PEP GUARDIOLA has warned Manchester City fans not to expect too much too soon from returning hero Sergio Aguero.
Sight of the striker arriving on the front line against Burnley this afternoon will fill supporters with belief that their early- season struggles are a thing of the past.
Yet while Guardiola ( inset, above) insisted he has no doubts Aguero will be there when they need him at a crucial stage of the season, he conceded the club legend is going to need time to get back to sharpness.
“He’s going to give us good moments this season but he is still not in the best condition and you cannot forget how long he was out,” said Guardiola.
“It is in the middle of the season that he needs to be so sharp but we don’t have doubts. He needs time to get it, in training and in the minutes he has on the pitch.”
Aguero missed the last eight games of the Premier League in the previous season with a knee issue which required surgery.
A return to action in October was cut short by a hamstring injury and he has not completed 90 minutes of football since February.
Aguero is out of contract at the Etihad next summer and Guardiola has insisted he needs to “earn” a new deal. But the Spaniard claimed he had no doubts he will at some stage do just that.
“He’s going to play minutes and play well and step by step he’ll be better,” said the City boss. “It has happened before with Vincent Kompany. He was incredibly important and Sergio is the same. In crucial moments he will be there.”
Guardiola finds himself in unfamiliar territory after eight games of the season, with City in the bottom half of the table and struggling for goals.
They have failed to score more than one goal in any of their last six Premier League games.
It is the worst streak since a 14- match run spanning two seasons in 2006. Aguero’s return will provide a boost against a side which have generally proved accommodating opposition. Not only has the Argentinian scored nine goals in eight games against Sean Dyche’s side but City have banged in 23 goals in their last six meetings.
“In the last game we created much more,” said Guardiola, of their midweek win over Olympiacos. “In the Champions League we had 22 shots and 11 on target, which was incredible.
“One day it will break and we’ll score more goals. It’s time to put more players in the box and sooner or later it is going to happen.”