Pep Guardiola Discusses Contract Extension, Recent Losses, and Rodri’s Award

Ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League match against Tottenham on Saturday, scheduled for a 17:30 GMT kick-off, manager Pep Guardiola addressed reporters. The following are the main points from his press conference: Regarding his two-year contract extension, Guardiola stated: “I felt I should stay here. Of course, because they want me. For obvious reasons, for the results and because we’ve known each other for a long time. All my decisions have been like that, what I feel in the moment, I wait. I decided to stay here and in just two hours we did it [agreed the contract]. I don’t want next season in September, October, November, for it to be ‘is this the last year of Pep? Will he extend again?’ That was the main reason.” Addressing questions about remaining with the club pending the announcement of the decision on the 115 charges it faces, he reiterated: “I said that six months ago. If we get relegated, I will be here and next year we’re going to come up to the Premier League. I knew it then – I feel it now.” Regarding the team’s recovery from four consecutive defeats, a first in his managerial career, Guardiola commented: “When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations. You’re able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time you’re able to win four Premier Leagues in a row. The difference is that most of the teams are able to lose four games in a row in different competitions but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row. So it’s happened.” Discussing the upcoming match against Tottenham, the team that initiated City’s recent losing streak last month in the EFL Cup, he stated: “We have to break the situation. We have to start winning games. Tomorrow we are coming back at home so hopefully we can perform well and start to take our rhythm.” Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic sustained an injury during international duty, which will sideline him for “a few weeks or a month.” However, “some” other injured players are expected to return; John Stones and Manuel Akanji have “trained good,” and Nathan Ake is anticipated to rejoin training. Phil Foden and Jack Grealish were observed participating in training sessions this week. Regarding Rodri’s presence at Saturday’s fixture, Guardiola remarked: “It’s nice to see Rodri back. Since [he won] the Ballon d’Or, we could not see him and congratulate him. His mood is good. It’s unique in our club – a player to come here and get this amazing award and it will be nice to share it with our people.”