A Manchester City squad overhaul pending? Every word from part two of Pep Guardiola’s post-Tottenham review | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has been quizzed on the possibility of a squad overhaul taking place at Manchester City over the course of the coming transfer windows.

That line of questioning comes in light of the Premier League champions falling to a fifth straight defeat across competitions, and their third loss in a row within the English top-flight courtesy of a 0-4 scoreline against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.

The result brought about a flurry of post-match records that would have made for sore reading for all those of a Manchester City persuasion, particularly the fact that Guardiola’s side had lost at home for the first time in over two years, before the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The 0-4 defeat also meant that Manchester City had established a new worst home Premier League, eclipsing a 1-5 loss to Arsenal back in 2003, whilst also becoming the first reigning top-flight champions to lose five games in a row in all competitions since Chelsea in 1956.

In week that will see Manchester City return to UEFA Champions League action with a meeting against Feyenoord in the competition, as well as facing a trip to Anfield against Arne Slot’s high-flying Liverpool next weekend, improvements must come, and fast.

Speaking during the second-half of his post-Tottenham debrief at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, here is every word from Pep Guardiola!

On not having enough support from other players when Erling Haaland doesn’t score

“Yeah, he’s the main target, but Phil (Foden) had two or three clear chances, and Josko (Gvardiol) had one or two clear chances. So I don’t know, I have to review the game but the fact that the way we played in different shapes in the first and second-half, the way with the ball we were playing was good.

“I don’t think we didn’t create not enough chances, we created a lot of chances. But it’s true that in our way we are there, and after they link there and (Heung-min) Son keeps the ball, or (Dejan) Kulusevski can attack inside, and after they run. If you don’t win this first action, it’s more difficult and they were brilliant, they were good. So we have to accept it.”

On whether he needs more players to step up and take some goalscoring responsibility

“Yeah, maybe but the chances are there. The same for example like in Brighton. But it is what it is. Of course we want a lot of players to score, but it’s happened now. I think we had the chances, and clear, clear ones at 0-0, 0-1, 0-2 – we were there.

“And I know at the Etihad, when we are there, we can score goals, our momentum is there. But now in that moment we are not solid enough, that is the truth, in both sides. Normally when we’re solid we don’t concede goals, no. In both sides, we are not good enough.”

On whether a degree of squad rebuilding was discussed when renewing his Manchester City contract

“I think, when all the squad is there, it’s exceptional. I would not be, from my voice or my words, saying that the team is not good. But the team is not ready here, this is a little bit of the problem that we have in this period.

“But the team is really good, and at the end of the season or whenever, of course like I’m here and I want to be, we will take the right decisions with what we have to do. But it looks like when I’m saying that that I trust more than ever with these players.

“I’ve been here as a football player, you have doubts, and you want to win, and they are desperate to do well. They are not, ‘Ah it doesn’t matter’. Absolutely not! I see them every day in training sessions, how they are focussed today in the locker room, in the warm-up, and after the game how they feel it.

“They feel it, the football players, not just here but everywhere, they feel it, they want to do well. But sometimes you have to accept it, sometimes it’s not like we have been for eight years. But I’ve said before, and I’ve said here, sooner or later it should’ve happened. Sooner or later.

“I know the people, ‘Win again, and again, and again’, but sooner or later you have that. For many reasons, little details. It would be easy if you said, ‘Ah that is the reason why, me, or players, whatever’, it would be easy to fix.

“There are little, little things that started from from the beginning of the season, and if it was getting worse, a little bit worse in situations, and you say, ‘No the squad’ – the squad is really good! When we are all together, it’s really good! But unfortunately now we have to face it.

“I cannot say anything. The situation and what we have to do; keep going my friends, keep going. We have done it in the past in terms of being not as bad as now in terms of the results, but we have done it, and we face the situation and we move forward.”

On how the manager and coaching staff work on ‘negative thoughts’ during the week

“As a normal season, when they are lazy or they don’t care, and after that I have to be there. But when I know they tried, and I tried, I’m there. I’m there in good ways. They don’t want to live (this situation).

“I never saw a football player, never, ever in my life that they want to perform bad, they don’t want to make a bad performance for his family, for his mates, for the fans, for the club who is there, nobody wants it. When a player goes there in front of 60,000 people, they want to perform well but sometimes for many reasons, it hurts. It’s more difficult.”

On whether there is a problem with reacting to adversity in games

“Listen, when you lose 0-4 all the comments are you miss this, miss that, miss this – yeah, it can happen. Yeah, it’s true. But I don’t have the feeling with 0-1 that we reacted really bad, or in the second-half at 0-3 we had our best moments until we conceded for 0-4, I think the team was good. But when we created the chances we were there, but unfortunately we could not do it.”

On what is the problem, even if teams that Manchester City are playing against are good

“Of course the presence from the central defenders when they were fit, with Rodri of course, with (Mateo) Kova with his pace, of course it’s completely different than the other ones. But you have to deal with that, and that’s why you have to deal with that type of game, and more control, and more of these kind of things.

“But during the seasons it happens, we don’t expect to lose important players for many (weeks/months). But it happens, and you have to find a way. When you start to lose, I said to the people, I have to find a way! I have to!

“It’s my duty, it’s my responsibility to find a way to be more consistent, and our game will be better, and we’ll win games. And this is what we have to do.”

On whether the players and the squad have the ability to win duels again

“We have to find other abilities. If we don’t have this one, we have to find another way to win it. Sometimes when you don’t have it for the reasons, for many reasons, it doesn’t matter, we have to do it in another way.

“And which players we have at our disposal, these ones are better than the other ones, OK let’s go and let’s try to do it with them, for the potential qualities that we have. And that is what we will try to do and what we are thinking for the last weeks.”