Guardiola on struggling City form ahead of Nottingham Forest
03/12/2024
CFGA, Manchester, UK
03/12/2024
CFGA, Manchester, UK
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00:00You've spoken a lot and a lot of people have mentioned about the amount of players that
00:22have been injured or coming back to fitness, do you accept that the longer this run goes
00:28on, that even when you get your players back, the team itself will never reach the levels
00:37they reached the last four seasons?
00:43With all the squad this season, we'll be close to the level that we reached last season,
00:48yeah.
00:49So you still believe that you can get right to the levels that you were at with this squad?
00:54With all the players ready, yeah.
00:57Does that mean that it's not necessarily certain that you will go into the market in January?
01:04Because I think most people think that that is what the solution might be.
01:11We'll talk internally what is the best in January, it depends on the position and the
01:16situation that we are in at the moment.
01:22Did you pick up any injuries at Liverpool at the weekend and is John Stones closer to
01:27coming back?
01:28No, not close.
01:29He's still injured, he had a problem with his feet and I don't know, but not for that
01:36I would say next week.
01:37As for the game, Forrester in the top six, I don't think many people predicted that at
01:43the start of the season.
01:44What makes them such awkward opposition?
01:47Strong physicality, a good manager, good experience, like Brighton and other teams,
01:51like I said before, the middle class rise a lot.
01:56And it's not just one or two or three games, so there's already a lot of games being played
02:00in the Premier League and he's in the top positions, so that means they are good.
02:07De Bruyne hasn't started for a while, but he came off the bench, is he now fully fit
02:11to start?
02:12Would he be in your mind for...?
02:14He's closer and even better.
02:17The last few days he's even better.
02:22Hi Pep, just on the goalkeeping situation, is Stefan now going to get a run in the team
02:33or is Ederson going to come back in for this one?
02:35Ederson is number one, Stefan number two, but maybe Stefan will continue, we'll see
02:40tomorrow in the next games.
02:42How did Ederson react to the decision that he wasn't going to play?
02:45Really good.
02:46We've known each other for eight years, nine years.
02:52Coming back to the Etihad tomorrow after Anfield, how important is it for the fans to create
02:56an atmosphere that the players can respond to?
02:58Yeah, we need them.
03:00The situation is what it is and we need them.
03:02They always have been there and had the feeling, so they know exactly what these guys have
03:07done, what these teams have done in the last decade, I would say, many, many good moments
03:15where they lived together.
03:16They know that we need absolute support because all of us, the players especially, are human
03:23beings and of course they are always willing to give everything to try to change that dynamic.
03:32Pepe, it can feel like the end of the world when a team loses a football match, how do
03:37you keep perspective, particularly in this difficult run?
03:41Thinking the next one.
03:42When we win a lot of games it's thinking the next one and it's the same, to try to clean
03:48the heads and try to get a good selection for the way we have to play and think the
03:56next one.
03:57I don't know another way.
04:00I don't feel sorry for ourselves, I don't feel sorry for myself, it's what it is, so
04:04I have to accept it.
04:06Lots of managers and Nuno has been the latest to say some kind words about yourself, about
04:11being one of the managers that he looks to, one of the few actually that have influenced
04:16the game to the level that you have.
04:18When you hear comments like that from your peers in the game, do they help in any way
04:23at this time?
04:24I appreciate it, thank you so much, but I know what this role is and the way it works.
04:33Thank you, Nuno, I appreciate it, I will reward the same thoughts about him and I know perfectly
04:39what we have done together in my career with many players, many clubs, but I can handle
04:47it.
04:48It's not about, I feel more secure what's going to happen tomorrow.
04:54Just finally from me, when you're clear at the top of the table, I've heard you sit there
04:58many times and say that lots of teams down the league are still involved in the title
05:02race, you often reel off a number of teams as your competitors.
05:05It's fifth against sixth tomorrow, both these teams, yourself and Forrest, do you still
05:10feel you're in the title race and have a point to prove?
05:12I said it before, we cannot talk of the results we had in the past, to think about being a
05:17big target would be a big mistake.
05:20A mistake is trying to win a team that's close to us, to take advantage of him, to
05:24be close in the top four, and that is a target.
05:27In November we'll see what happens, but of course it's going to happen and we'll try
05:30to win games.
05:31That's what we have to try to do.
05:34I think in the Premier League, especially when one team has been...
05:37I would say we are not far away from the team for the second position, but always it's the
05:43way you play, the consistency that you are in the box, many things that give you the
05:48positive thoughts, what's going to happen in the future.
05:52At the end of the day, as a team, we have been magnificent at Liverpool, and after that
05:59you cannot fight against that situation, and it would be a big mistake.
06:04You have to do this, you have to regain games, make our game, have our moments be more productive,
06:12and after that, step by step, go forward.