Pep Guardiola is confident his players still have what it takes to succeed despite seeing his side thrashed by Tottenham on Saturday.
Manchester City were beaten 4-0 on their own turf by Spurs and have now lost five in a row in all competitions and three straight in the Premier League. It is a severe dent in their title ambitions with leaders Liverpool five points clear with a Sunday trip to Southampton to play ahead of the Anfield showdown with the Blues next weekend.
But Guardiola has faith in his squad and is determined not to over-analyse as he seeks to restore City’s form. Here’s everything the Etihad chief had to say following the defeat to Spurs.
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Five defeats in a row. Can you explain it and do you have answers to how to pull the team out of the slump?
“When you lose 0-4 there is nothing to say – congratulate Tottenham. We struggled a little bit to get the balls back, we are not able to win it or the extra action afterwards but in terms of balls we were quite decent. We created a lot and we created a lot of chances in front of the keeper.
“We are a bit fragile right now, that is obvious. We struggled to score goals and after when they arrived they scored. We are playing a little bit in our thoughts, a little bit of negativity but this is normal. Football is a sense of mood and when you win a lot it gives you self awareness you can do it and when you lose three games in a row in the Premier League that situation is there. Many things are going to happen.
“We have to break the results because the victories help us to be more positive and confident and we have to do it. But after eight years here I knew sooner or later we would drop. I never expected to lose three PL games in a row but we have been incredibly consistent again and again and again and now we cannot deny the reality that sometimes happens in football and life is here.
“We have to do everything to change, especially for the next one, but the exceptionality we lived in eight years is not eternal. Sometimes you drop a little bit. In the way we played in the first minutes we played good, then the first chance we conceded we conceded a goal. When they arrive, we concede.
“The transitions from Spurs are really strong, we know it, that’s why we thought to bring a game for the physical conditions with a lot of midfield players for control. We cannot make up and downs because they are stronger than us. At the end, it is what we have done many years here but now we have that period we cannot run away, we have to face it and try to make the next game.”
These players have won so much. How are they now fragile?
“The fragility is that they have little situations that we are not strong enough due to the injuries that we had. John (Stones) feels good but has to leave after 45 minutes. I give credit to Tottenham. We were always a consistent team conceding few chances and lately we concede more chances than usual and our game was about control, this is not a team created to do box to box 40 times in a game – we are not good at that. We were always a team who conceded few but now we concede more and it is for many reasons. I’d like there to just be one reason but there are many reasons for the season. When the players come back better and better we will do it.”
Do you still back this squad and think this group of players can be champions again?
“I would say when you lose three (league) games in a row it is the most wrong thing to say that you will be champions. I know the guys, I know they will be back and if I’m going to doubt about them it is something wrong about me.
“Maybe I will not be good enough to get back in those situations and we will see but I’ve been a football player. What we have done in the past is exceptional but losing three Premier League games in a row can happen with the situation that happened can happen. It happened to me in Barcelona with La Liga.
“Now everything is a little bit against, when you feel confident and the results are good but now it is the opposite. We have to break it quick and accept it. The best way to go through the position is accept the reality. It’s not about you, me, you, the weather or the grass, we have to start to winning games.
“Now you realise how difficult what we have done is. You can be worse but when you said to me when you win 10 or 11 or 12 or 13 games in a row you’re going to win before the game I don’t know. Now we recover and on Tuesday we have to be here again and hopefully we will change the dynamic”
What is the mood of the players after the defeat?
“For the way they played they are angry but sometimes the opponent is good and sometimes you are not good enough in some departments. I think in our success I was so clever enough to say that what we do is A,B,C and is going to happen.
“The others are good too and sometimes you have bad moments. I would say the mistake is to think too much about analysing what happened and the other mistake would be after eight years going in that way, changing a lot would be a huge mistake. It worked because we didn’t change much.
“After winning four in a row, the Premier Leagues and the Champions League and being there all the time now I’m going to change after one or two defeats? Sometimes you have bad moments. I would say the mistake would be to think too much about analysis, but also after doing so much in eight years the mistake would be changing too much.
“You have to go to the simple things to go to the things that we believe in completely, step by step the players will be back and we will get back to try winning games. If at the end it doesn’t happen what can we do? More than ever, hopefully because I’m hugely optimistic in my life, hopefully they can follow me.”
It could be an 11-points gap to Liverpool if you lose there next week – would that be too much to catch up?
“Yeah. In terms of Liverpool winning and winning, it’s true. We’re not thinking about winning or losing [the title], we are not in the situation to think about what is going to happen at the end of the season. If in the end we don’t win it’s because we don’t deserve it. We won it in the past because we deserved it. What we have to do now is Feyenoord. That is the most important thing – first for the qualification for the Champions League – and step by step the players will be better.”
