Pep Guardiola has firmly quashed rumours that he might leave Manchester City amidst the club’s current turmoil. The City boss is facing the most challenging period of his managerial tenure, with the team having secured only one win in their last 13 matches across all competitions.
Currently languishing in seventh place in the Premier League, City are a full 14 points behind leaders Liverpool and face a fight to secure a spot in the Champions League knockout phase which has led to speculation about Guardiola’s future.
However, despite the setbacks, Guardiola, who recently committed to a new two-year contract, remains resolute in his determination to turn things around, stating: “Yes I will try. I will keep going.”
“Sometimes you think it will be earlier or easier to fix it, and other times it takes more time. But I will not give up. I want to be here, I want to do it, and with the situation we have now, I HAVE to do it.
“Of course I want it. Everyone wants it. I don’t want to disappoint my people in terms of the club, the fans, the people who love this place.”
As City prepare to face Leicester, Guardiola refuses to point fingers at his squad for the unexpected downturn in their performance.
His players have claimed a solitary win in their last 13 outings. Despite grappling with an extensive list of injured top-tier players, it’s undeniable that Guardiola’s squad seems to have lost the knack for securing victories.
The latest disappointment came on Boxing Day against Everton, where even with a team of 11 internationals at his disposal, Guardiola saw his side squander a lead and miss a penalty, culminating in a frustrating draw.
High-profile players including Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, and Kyle Walker have issued rallying cries without impact on their plummeting performance.
Faced with this crisis, Guardiola is under immense pressure to demonstrate his legendary management skills and turn the team’s fortunes around. However, he has vowed not to blame his high-value stars for their slump.
“It is what it is,” he continued. “I prefer it wasn’t this situation, but it is what it is. So I try to be as calm as possible, and what 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.”
The City boss remains optimistic about his team’s prospects, drawing on their history of success to inspire confidence: “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 reflected on the club’s impressive haul of 18 trophies since his arrival in 2016, suggesting that recalling past victories can be a source of motivation during challenging periods.
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.”
