Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said Monday the mood at the Etihad has been lifted by three straight wins but was cagey regarding potential recruits to strengthen his injury-hit squad in January.
Premier League champions City had won just one of 13 matches in all competitions before their 2-0 victory at Leicester on December 29.
They then overwhelmed West Ham 4-1 in Julen Lopetegui’s final game in charge of the London club before thrashing fourth-tier Salford 8-0 in the FA Cup third round last weekend.
“Before, it was impossible to win one, so now we’ve won three, and that helps us,” Guardiola said on the eve of Tuesday’s league match at Brentford.
“But the reality is we’ve won against a team in the last game for the difference of the Premier League and League Two and the badges for both teams, and for many reasons we should win.
“We did it quite well, but still we have to wait to see who we are. You know who we are, but of course the mood is better.”
He added, “We have an enormously difficult game (against Brentford). Thomas (Frank) and his team always create a lot of problems. They are a fantastic, fantastic team.”
Brentford’s home record in the Premier League is second only to leaders Liverpool’s, but they were eliminated from the FA Cup on Saturday after losing 1-0 to second-tier Plymouth.
In the race for a spot in the Champions League next season, City is only two points behind Chelsea in fourth place in the league standings, sitting in sixth place.
Kyle Walker, the captain, has stated that he would like to play elsewhere, but Guardiola indicated there was no change on the subject.
Since City’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United in mid-December, the 34-year-old England right-back has not started a match.
Walker’s inclusion in the team for Tuesday’s game in London will be decided by Guardiola later on Monday.
He also declined to respond when asked about reports that City has agreed to a fee with Lens for defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
“The club didn’t announce anything,” he said. “I don’t know.”
