Despite the comfort of 18 trophies in his eight full seasons at City, Guardiola reminds journalists from time to time in press conferences that if he does not deliver results, he risks losing his job like any other manager.
At times, it seems as if Guardiola said it to motivate himself.
He did it again on Monday as the search for a solution to City’s slump in form continued.
Guardiola’s demeanor suggests that the search occupies most of his thoughts.
When he arrived at his press conference to preview Tuesday’s Champions League match against Dutch side Feyenoord, Guardiola was a little breathless. It seemed like he didn’t really want to be there.
But sometimes, a small trigger can change your mood.
When asked if he was considering any fundamental changes to his approach, which he clearly will not implement, Guardiola’s initial reaction was blunt.
“Because?” he asked again. For the five defeats, the answer came.
And so Guardiola explained why it wouldn’t happen.
At times like that, it’s best to just sit back and wait for it to end. There is no pause that allows for any intervention.
That single response lasted seven seconds less than three minutes.
In short, Guardiola said he had too many injured players. I needed to get some of them back and then those players needed to get back to fitness. Good or bad, he said, nothing lasts forever and this period will eventually pass. While the 4-0 loss to Tottenham looked bad, his team took 26 shots and based on their xG, they should have won. This fact, in his opinion, requires fewer changes, not more.
Then the disorder caused by the injuries was explained. Nothing from Rodri. There is no opportunity to choose central defenders Manuel Akanji or John Stones as a holding midfielder, with Rubén Dias behind. So the task falls to Ilkay Gundogan, who, Guardiola observes, “is our best man when we come across [the opposition] box”, not from City itself.
“It’s not because they are soft, lazy or unwilling,” Guardiola concluded. “What we have to do is create more and concede less.”
It sounds simple, but there is uncertainty.
Guardiola cannot be sure what will come next because he has never had to get out of this situation before. He may have had bigger, more individual issues to deal with at the club, but in terms of winning football games, he is in uncharted territory.
And the media isn’t quite sure how to approach it because, to a large extent, for six of the last seven seasons, they have gotten used to telling the story of how brilliant Guardiola and his team are.
Nobody wants to say they are terrible in the way they have been with, say, Manchester United, because recent history shows that City can put together a long winning streak that will take them to another title, no matter how unlikely it currently seems.
At first glance, Feyenoord at home is exactly the type of game they need right now.
In seven previous games against Dutch teams, City lost once, against Ajax in Amsterdam in 2012. In 2017, Guardiola’s team played Feyenoord twice and beat them, 4-0 away and 1-0 at home, moment in which he qualified from the group. The Champions League phase was already assured.
With a trip to Liverpool in the Premier League looming on Sunday, a sixth successive defeat is almost unthinkable. But Guardiola is not looking too far into the future.
“One day we will win a game and our minds will be clear,” he said. “I hope that on Tuesday, if not [then] Sunday. If not, next.”
The pressure has not yet reached Guardiola. But he does need a positive result to ease the burden he places on himself.
