Pep Guardiola said Monday that Manchester City can still achieve “very good things” this season despite their alarming run of five straight defeats.
City host Dutch side Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday, chasing their first win in any competition since late October, but Guardiola remains bullish.
“I have the feeling that this season we will do very good things,” he told his pre-match press conference. “I don’t give up and I have the feeling we will be there.”
“You are defending a legacy, a tradition, a success that is so difficult to handle,” he added.
“So, that’s why I relax. If we don’t do it, we don’t do it. It’s just to try to focus in the short period of time and win the next games.
“So, what I want is a commitment.”
City are already eight points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title race, with a trip to Anfield looming next weekend.
They are 10th in the Champions League standings after two wins, a draw and a defeat in their opening four matches, and out of the League Cup.
But Guardiola said he had no intention of changing his methods, which have brought the club four straight Premier League titles and the Champions League crown in 2023.
“I want the players in certain departments to be more focused. What do we have to do?” he said.
“And step by step, we come back. This too shall pass. Life is like that. When you think it’s perfect, you are wrong. It’s going to rain tomorrow. So, it’s life.”
He added: “Right now, the most important thing is not tactics, it is to win a game on desire.
“You look at December and at the end of the season, whether you need to change things and be more solid, but these guys will do very, very good things.”
Guardiola has been dealing with a lengthy injury list, including midfield playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who was out for many weeks after picking up a niggle in mid-September.
The Belgian, who has made three substitute performances since his return to action earlier this month, said it had been frustrating watching the side struggle.
“I can help the team but you can only do so much from the side,” he said.
“It’s frustrating because I know if I was feeling good I could help the team but I wasn’t able to do that.”
De Bruyne, 33, said the squad was determined to get back to winning ways as soon as possible.
“It’s been a bit chaotic I would say. I’ve seen so many people around the medical area, sports science, (you wonder) who’s playing who is not playing,” he said.
“There were people who shouldn’t be playing but they did anyway with injuries.”
AFP
