"What are we going to do? Cry that Rodri is not there?"

After winning six Premier League titles, four Carabao Cups, two FA Cups, three Community Shields, the Super Cup, the Club World Cup  and the Champions League, Pep Guardiola is enduring his worst spell of his career as Man City manager. The defending champions have suffered five consecutive defeats and as they head to Anfield to visit Liverpool, Guardiola is under pressure to prove his coaching credentials all over again.

“It's not nice to live, of course it's not nice, but what do you expect?" said the Spaniard. “That everything will be a red carpet? That everything is nice and easy? It's easy when you're winning 10, 11 or 12 games in a row, everyone is fit, everyone is in their prime and everyone is 26, 27 or 28. Everything is going well. That's easy. Now? No. Now I have to prove myself".

Despite the abysmal run of form, the City boss said he is up for the challenge, hence why he recently extended his deal with the club until 2027. "I want the opportunity to try. I don't want to run... I want to continue up there," he told reporters during his press conference on Friday. “I asked for that challenge and I asked for this opportunity to do it because I feel it. I know what we want to do, I know what we need and what we have to do, knowing that at this moment we obviously don't have the consistency that we had. But which team around the world, over 10 years, is consistent? Tell me one. It doesn't exist.... Not in any sports".

City's crisis can easily be linked to Rodri's absence, who is out for an extended period of time following an ACL surgery. But Guardiola insisted that the loss of the Ballon d'Or winner should not be used as an excuse to justify their underwhelming performances, as he told his players they must simply deal with the situation. “It's not an excuse that Rodri is not there,” he said. “What are we going to do, cry all the time that Rodri is not there? Or that four central defenders have not been there for a long time in the last month? I have to find a solution and I'm trying every day".

The former Barcelona coach urged his side not to lose hope, as their previous successes show that they are capable of getting out of this plight. “We cannot forget that, three months ago, we were Premier League champions. We made the FA Cup final and we arrived in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. We have to find a way, one way or the other, to win games. It's not about playing good or playing bad, it's about winning games. We won the Treble and four titles in a row," he concluded.

 

November 29, 2024