Pep Guardiola claimed that Manchester City were way below par in beating West Ham 4-1 as Kevin De Bruyne pointedly called for unwavering support from the club’s fans.
Erling Haaland scored twice and Savinho stole the show as the defending champions moved within two points of the top four with consecutive victories for the first time since October.
But Guardiola was not satisfied and insisted there is a long road back before they reach the levels of performance for which his team are renowned.
‘We’ve seen for many years our level and we are not at our level,’ Guardiola said. ‘We won, I am so happy and it helps us.
‘But (the public) judge us on results – our performance was not good. When we play good, we know we play good.
‘You cannot ask me if the old Man City is back. If you saw the game we are not. You saw many times during the years what we have done with these opponents.
Pep Guardiola has claimed Manchester City were well below par against West Ham despite winning 4-1
City have been in poor form for the last few months and Guardiola blasted their showing on Saturday afternoon
Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, called for unwavering support from the club’s fans
‘We’re not at the level, come on. It is not when we lose it is a disaster and if we win, it is an incredible performance.
‘Against Everton (a draw) we played much better than today. And when we draw it’s a big crisis, disaster. No. If you ask me the team is playing like it has played the years ago, no, absolutely not.’
Guardiola added: ‘We don’t pass the ball. That’s why we suffer. We lose the ball too easily. We need to find our tempo. We cannot run with the ball, we have to pass. Everyone wants to be quick, they want to win 4-0 after 20 mins. No. Take time. Relax.’
The Etihad Stadium became nervy when Niclas Fullkrug scored with 19 minutes remaining, and West Ham were guilty of missing chances afterwards.
De Bruyne – who kept the captain’s armband on even after club skipper Kyle Walker entered off the bench – appeared disappointed by the atmosphere.
‘I don’t know why,’ he said when asked about the nervousness. ‘I can understand that we are not up to the level but they should support us because the effort is there and we are still winning 4-1.
‘I don’t understand what is happening. The team gave maximum effort. The level has to be higher but we understand that.
‘We understand a bit more what we have done in the last 10 years and how hard it is. At the moment we are a bit below that.’
