- Pep Guardiola says he blames himself for Manchester City’s malaise
- Guardiola warned his side’s win at Leicester could prove to be a false dawn
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Pep Guardiola says he blames himself for Manchester City‘s malaise and has warned his side’s win at Leicester could prove to be a false dawn.
City’s victory over Ruud van Nistelrooy’s relegation strugglers was only their second in 14 matches, a run that leaves the Premier League champions in a battle to make the top four. Although gripped by an injury crisis, Guardiola accepted culpability in a display of personal anguish before City host West Ham.
‘I’m unbelievably honest with myself for the reasons why we’ve arrived here, and it is me,’ Guardiola said. ‘It’s not the players. I blame (myself). It’s not to say, ‘Oh, how nice is Pep?’ It’s the truth.
‘I lead that group of players and I could not lift them. This is the reality. There is something I’m missing, something I’m not doing well.
‘When you lose a lot of games, there is an incredible responsibility for the manager to feel something that the team needs for its confidence. And I was not able to do it.’
Guardiola is often self-critical but opened up on his mistakes, suggesting he had misread the dressing room at times and hinting that his messages behind the scenes have not inspired a squad who have fallen 14 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola (pictured above) says he blames himself for Manchester City ‘s malaise and has warned his side’s win at Leicester could prove to be a false dawn
City’s victory over Ruud van Nistelrooy’s relegation strugglers was only their second in 14 matches, a run that leaves the Premier League champions in a battle to make the top four
Reinforcements would help, with City hopeful of being busy in the transfer market. Ederson at Atalanta, Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush and Lens centre back Abdukodir Khusanov are targets in key areas of the pitch.
But Guardiola is wary of doing business in the notoriously tricky January window and appears more concerned with finding a formula to arrest the slide.
‘We were the only unbeaten team in Europe and top of the League (in October),’ he added. ‘Immediately we went down. For injuries, many things we’ve talked about. But even with that,
I should have found a way to get better results.
‘We have to recover our game because we were lucky in Leicester. We had spirit, ran and had desire, of course, but we have to play better.
‘I said to the players many times that I know their level.We need that level and we haven’t had that level.
‘How is the team compared to the last eight years? We are not there. I’m not denying it. One result is not going to change my perspective on how the team is right now. We won one game.
‘But hopefully results can help with our belief and composure. Sometimes you know you need a change to lift the team.’
