As Manchester City prepare to take on Southampton at the Etihad Stadium, Pep Guardiola has given his clearest indication yet that the club will not suffer the same fate as their rivals Manchester United, who have struggled to regain their dominant form following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure.
The City manager, who has won 17 major trophies during his eight-year tenure, including six Premier League titles, is yet to decide whether to extend his contract beyond the current season, but is believed to make a decision this winter. Despite the uncertainty, Guardiola is confident that the club will maintain stability even if he were to leave, pointing to the presence of long-serving sporting director Txiki Begiristain, who will depart at the end of the season, but will be replaced by former Portugal international Hugo Viana from Sporting Lisbon.
Ferguson left United as league champions in 2013, but the Red Devils have since failed to consistently mount a serious title challenge. “I don’t know what happened,” Guardiola said. “I am pretty sure that [stability] is going to happen here. I know how it works. It will be a bad sign for the club if after just one person leaves everything is dragged down. But I don’t have doubts about that.”
Despite his confidence, City will be without four key players, Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, and Jeremy Doku, who are all recovering from injuries. However, Guardiola remains optimistic about the players available, saying they will give everything for the team. The squad was depleted, with just five outfield players named on the bench for the 5-0 win over Sparta Prague, but the manager is not concerned.
“I’m not concerned at all about how far it is [a return to top form] because I know when he is fine, he will get it,” he said of England’s Phil Foden, who scored against Sparta Prague. “He’s a natural talent, he will get it. But in a career when you have many, many years, and Phil already has many years, you have these bumps, ups and downs a little bit. They are human beings. Be patient. Let them feel that this type of player in these types of moments, that we are there and everything is going well.”
With Guardiola’s future uncertain, the United States is eagerly waiting to see what will happen next.
