Pep Guardiola stated on Monday that Manchester City can still achieve “very good things” this season, despite their troubling run of five successive losses.
City will play Dutch club Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday, aiming for their first win in any competition since late October, but Guardiola remains confident.
“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 about trying to focus on the short period of time and winning the next games. What I want is a commitment.”
City are currently eight points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title battle, with a trip to Anfield coming up next weekend.
They are 10th in the Champions League rankings after two wins, a draw, and a loss in their first four games, and have been ousted from the League Cup.
However, Guardiola stated that he had no intention of changing his techniques, which had guided the club to four consecutive Premier League wins and the Champions League triumph 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 will 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, that’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 battling with a large injury list, including midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who was sidelined for several weeks after suffering an injury in mid-September.
The Belgian, who has made three substitute appearances since his return earlier this month, admitted it was frustrating to watch the team struggle.
“I can help the team, but you can only do so much from the sidelines,” 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, stated that the squad was determined to return to winning ways as soon as possible.
“It’s been a bit chaotic, I would say,” he said. “I’ve seen so many people around the medical area, sports science, (you wonder) who’s playing and who’s not playing. There were people who shouldn’t be playing but did anyway with injuries.”
