Guardiola’s relaxed approach suggests no major Blues crisis

PEP Guardiola raised a few eyebrows when he claimed he was proud and happy with his City players and their performance at Spurs.

The manager had been locked in the dressing room with his squad for 45 minutes after the 2-0 defeat at Spurs.

Guardiola later claimed, typically, he spent much of the time in a phone call to his wife. Minds wandered back to the famous part of the ‘All or Nothing’ documentary, when he told his players he would defend them to the hilt in press conferences, but that in the private space of the dressing room, he would tell them exactly what he thinks.

But apart from individual errors – Ilkay Gundogan’s missed penalty, Sergio Aguero’s open-goal miscue, Riyad Mahrez’s sloppy pass which led to Aleks Zinchenko red card, and the Ukrainian’s needless challenge – there was little for him to be annoyed about.

City had played well, dominated Spurs, and created a host of good chances, which they contrived to miss.

Unless he was lambasting them for their finishing, it is difficult to see what other negatives Guardiola would throw in his players’ faces.

It is far more likely that it was a rallying call, an urging for them not to let the season dissipate - and that means a strong finish in the Premier League, defending both domestic cups and having a good tilt at the Champions League.

That was backed up by the fact Guardiola has given his players two days off in the run-up to the home game with West Ham on Sunday.

Traditional football managers cancel days off, and haul their players in for extra training after two defeats on the trot - Guardiola does things differently, especially when he is not overly concerned about performance level.

The players trained on Monday, which would normally be a day off, but were then dismissed and are expected back today to start preparations for the game with the Hammers.

That does not appear to be the action of a manager angry at his team

after successive defeats - a team which failed to score in consecutive games for the first time in his reign.

The timing may well be symbolic. Some teams are already enjoying their winter break, with the Premier League staggering it so there is not a football free weekend.

But City’s fortnight off does not start until after they have faced West Ham it will then be 13 days before they go to Leicester to scrap over second place, and then face Real Madrid away four days later.

A training schedule is still being devised for the fortnight break, but time off to recharge batteries is expected to be built into it, so this week’s short interlude is a bonus for the players.

Next week would have been the obvious time to give his players some extra time off, but to do it now sends a message that the manager is not angry, but instead understands that the football gods have turned their back on the Blues in the last week.