Manchester City’s dismal run has seen them win just once in their last 13 matches but Pep Guardiola is not singling out any of his players for their remarkable downturn in form
Pep Guardiola insists he will not blame his players for the remarkable slump that has left Manchester City‘s season in tatters.
The inquest into City’s astonishing collapse continues to rage in the blue half of Manchester. The reigning Premier League champions have left the footballing world in shock following just one win in 13 games in all competitions.
City might have been deprived of a host of superstars due to a crippling injury list. But there is no escaping the fact Guardiola’s side appear to have become one which has forgotten how to win matches.
The latest setback came against Everton on Boxing Day, when Guardiola was still able to field a team containing 11 internationals. City took the lead and also missed a second-half penalty through Erling Haaland, and had to settle for a disappointing draw in the end.
During recent weeks there have been rallying calls from the likes of Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker. But the rabble rousing from inside the camp has made no difference to results.
Serial winner Guardiola knows he is now under huge pressure to prove his genius – and find solutions to his mounting problems. But the Spaniard is adamant that one of them will not be to point the finger of blame towards his under-performing millionaires in light blue.
Guardiola, whose side travel to Leicester City on Sunday, said: “It is what it is. I prefer it wasn’t this situation, but it is what it is. So I try to be as calm as possible, and what we can do is do it better in the next game. That’s what we want to try, that’s all I want to do.
“I don’t have it in my education to start complaining, to point at people. It’s happened. It’s life. It’s football, so let’s try it again. That’s why all the time we have had success, because always it is never enough.
“We will try it again and again and again. That’s why we won a lot of titles. Every three days it was a game and win, win, win for many, many years. Now we have to do the same again.”
Guardiola is keen to look back on the good times, in the hope it will help his players move forward with more confidence in themselves. City have won a staggering 18 trophies since Guardiola took charge in 2016.
And the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss believes memories of previous success can prove helpful in the difficult times. He added: “It’s not just now, it’s since I arrived as a manager.
“I think all of us in our jobs want to do it well and please the people. That is undeniable. There is no question mark. It’s easy to understand. The biggest test is to come back again. That has already happened, we have done that before.
“That makes you remember how good the past was. That’s the truth. This makes you realise how good it is, what we have done in the past. Sometimes you have injuries. For so many years we were incredibly consistent but now, yes, expect a little bit down, and the main reason is having so many important players injured.
“But I’ve seen the team spirit, how we trained, how focused they are, how they try to practice.”