Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (C) and his players applaud their fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Manchester City at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on December 21, 2024.
Pep Guardiola insists he will not walk out on troubled Manchester City as he strives to stop the champions’ stunning decline.
Guardiola only recently signed a two-year contract extension but City’s dismal form has raised questions about his future at the Etihad Stadium.
A nightmare run of nine defeats in 13 games, with just one win in that woeful spell, triggered suggestions the City boss could decide to quit if he cannot find an answer to his team’s problems.
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But, having led City to six Premier League titles in the past seven seasons, Guardiola is adamant he still has the hunger to turn the situation around.
“I will try, I will keep going. Sometimes you think the bad run will be ended earlier or it would be easier to fix it, but it takes more time,” he said.
“I will not give up. I want to be here. I want to do it and, with the situation that we have, we 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 club.
“I think all of us in our job want to do it well and please the people. That is undeniable, not a question mark.
“The biggest test is to come back again, but we have done that before.”
Injuries have been a major factor in City’s demise, leaving them languishing in seventh place in the Premier League.
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Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is recovering from a long-term knee injury, while Ruben Dias, John Stones, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Matheus Nunes all missed the 1-1 draw with Everton on Boxing Day.
The usually prolific Erling Haaland missed a penalty that could have sealed a City win against Everton, extending his erratic form in an inconsistent season.
Haaland has scored just once in his last seven games, but Guardiola refused to blame the Norway striker or any of his teammates.
“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,” he said.
“That’s why 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 months and years. Now we have to do the same when results are not good.”
City still have doubts over the fitness of a number of players as they bid to get back to winning ways at struggling Leicester on Sunday.
“Sometimes you have injuries,” Guardiola said. “For how many years we were incredibly consistent but now, yes, we’re a little bit down and the main reason is having so many important players injured.
“But I saw the team spirit, how we trained this week, how focused they are, how they try to practice.”