Guardiola on struggling City form ahead of Nottingham Forest

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Guardiola on struggling City form ahead of Nottingham Forest  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.

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