City still don’t have feel of Champions League winners claims Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has again claimed Manchester City do not have the feel of Champions League winners and has urgedsupporterstopropelthe club forward.

The City boss, pictured, has often cited the club’s lack of history at elite European level as one of the reasons why they are still to make a big breakthrough on that stage.

A perceived indifference of City fans towards the competition has been an issue for Guardiola, who twice guided Barcelona to Champions League glory. He said: “We’ll put more efforts into winning this competition. In many circumstances we are still not ready to win it. That’s what I feel. That doesn’t mean we are not going to try, but to win this competition it’s not enough just to have desire, or wanting to win. You have to have many circumstances, have experience and still we don’t have enough in some moments.

“It’s not just the players. You have to have the desire – the club, chairman, owner, the fans. Everyone has to push to be closer, to achieve the next stages. When it happens, everyone will feel it.”

City first qualified for the Champions League in 2011 and have been present every season since. It took fans time to warm to the competition and a number of issues concerning Uefa did not help.

There was irritation over the level of fines for racial abuse aimed at City players by rival fans and that increased after the club were fined for breaching Financial Fair Play regulations in 2014. Itturnedtoangerwhencity fans were punished for the behaviour of CSKA Moscow supporters by being refused admission to a game in Russia. City supporters have routinely booed the Champions League anthem since.

All this predates Guardiola’s arrival and, having been used to the intensity of Champions League atmospheres at Barca and Bayern Munich, it has surprised him. He said: “To win this kind of title, you have to be pushed, not just by the manager, (but) by everyone surrounding Manchester City that we have to win it. And still we don’t have that feeling – the feeling that the fans are pushing that we have to win the Champions League.

“In this competition you need something special and still I don’t feel it. Maybe in the future, maybe with other players and other managers. Every year we’ll be closer and sooner or later it’s going to happen.”