Pep Guardiola reveals why he thinks Manchester City have not sacked him after difficult season | OneFootball

Manchester City have recognised Pep Guardiola’s achievements at the Etihad Stadium in opting not to sack the Catalan coach this season, the manager himself believes.

The reigning Premier League champions are in the midst of an increasingly difficult season across all competitions and find themselves struggling to put together any sort of winning form to improve their fate come the end of the campaign.

Having exited the Carabao Cup at the fourth round stage earlier on in the season, and most recently from the UEFA Champions League prior to the last-16, Manchester City find themselves at risk of their first trophy-less season since 2016/17.

The priority now for all involved at the club is a top-four finish in the Premier League in order to record a European place for the next campaign, while the FA Cup presents a good chance at winning a trophy given the teams already knocked out of the tournament.

But speaking during a recent press conference, Pep Guardiola admitted that if it was not for his historic achievements of past seasons at Manchester City, then officials within the club may have considered sacking him this campaign.

“I’m going to make an incredible, huge compliment for my Chairman. I don’t have to make a compliment just because I have to do it. I have a contract for two more years. The first season and this was tough, but never felt them closer to me,” Guardiola explained.

“Most of the time I say, ‘Come on, let’s go’ and most of the times they say, ‘Pep, it’s going to go well, don’t worry, keep working, it’s life’ and they’ve been unbelievable.”

The 54-year-old continued, “I’m still here not sacked because what happened in the recent past has been extraordinary and especially because of the type of Chairman, CEO, and Sporting Director that we have. In other clubs and cultures, it may be different.”

Manchester City face just one final game in a largely torrid February that has seen the club win just twice in their six games so far, as a trip to North London and to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium awaits on Wednesday night.

The month as a whole has featured back-to-back defeats to Real Madrid, a heavy loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, and a 0-2 home scoreline at the hands of league leaders Liverpool most recently.

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham will bring back memories of the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium earlier in the campaign, as they handed out a remarkable 0-4 home loss for the Blues as part of a horrible run of form across November and December in particular.