Pep: Let’s tie Fernandinho to a new deal
PEP GUARDIOLA has urged his Manchester City bosses to sign up Fernandinho on a new deal after claiming that the Brazilian midfielder is the man most responsible for their unbeaten start.
The 31-year-old, signed from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30m in 2013, is one of seven City players in the final year of his contract.
The Premier League table-toppers go to rivals Tottenham today having won 10 and drawn one of their first 11 games under their new manager.
“What has happened until now would have been impossible without Fernandinho,” says Guardiola.
“If a team has three Fernandinhos, they would be champions.
“We have one. But he is fast, he is intelligent, he is strong in the air, he can shoot, he can play several positions.
“When he sees the space he will run there immediately and when you need to make a correction, he is there.
“I know how managers work in England. They control things.
“But here I am not a manager, I am a trainer. I give my opinion and after that the club decides.
“Hopefully he will stay because I’ve just said what I think of him!”
Guardiola crosses swords today with Mauricio Pochettino, a man he faced as both a player and coach when he was at Barcelona and the Argentinean was at city neighbours Espanyol.
Pochettino is one of a number of managers who has been influenced by Guardiola’s playing principles, and the Spaniard is a big fan – though he warns against any aspiring coach slavishly replicating his methods.
“If they just want to copy a guy who wins that is a big mistake,” he says.
“Some coaches invite me to see their training because they are having problems.
“I say to them: ‘Be yourself. If you like someone that’s OK, but when you do it, think carefully’.
“It is not like a computer where you can copy and paste. You have to think.
“I felt the same in my past with some coaches. In that moment I felt I liked something and I wanted to do that.
“But I have to believe with every part of my body in what I believe.
“When I lose I am disappointed, but I will never want to change the way I play.
“I didn’t come here for the sake of creating new things in English football.
“When I ask my players to play in a certain position, for instance, there is a reason. It’s not just because I feel like it.
“I am not a guy who’s here to make inventions and then lose the game. Believe me, I want to win.”