11 November 2023 , 22:30
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Pep Guardiola insists he is not invincible at Manchester City.
Guardiola, who last season guided City to a third successive title and the Treble, has revealed that he is driven by a fear of failure and feels he would not be immune to the sack if he allowed his standards to drop.
The Catalan accepts he is fortunate to be backed to the hilt by an owner who has entrusted him to make City the dominant footballing force both at home and abroad, as well as a sporting director in Txiki Begiristain who is a close friend as well as an ally in the transfer market.
But he does not accept that those factors have made him bulletproof. Guardiola said: "I have never felt, since I was a football player or a manager, invincible or unbeatable. Never, ever.
"When I play in the Carabao Cup against League One teams or Conference teams I prepare the games like I always prepare the games. I am scared we are going to lose. I am worried. I feel that. Never, ever have I not felt it.
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“When you win a lot it is easier. No club can sustain you if you don't win in modern football. Not even if they are your friends. Not even if they are close to you, they are not going to sustain you.
“Sometimes you have to reflect when you have a good result that you have this. But I am pretty convinced that it means a lot to have that stability in the team because the players know that things are not going to change too much. We push each other a lot. I push a lot for my bosses and for my players. They demand that I take good decisions and do good things - and I push them.”
Guardiola was a teammate of Begiristain at Barcelona. And when chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak brought Begiristain and former Barca chief executive Ferran Soriano to Manchester in 2012, a grand plan was hatched to eventually appoint Guardiola as manager.
Pep Guardiola won the Treble last season at Man City (FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)In his seven years in England, the 52-year-old has lifted the Premier League five times. But City finished third behind Chelsea and Tottenham in his first season at the helm.
And there were a series of heartbreaking near-misses in the Champions League that included a shock defeat at the hands of Chelsea in 2020 before they finally became European champions last May.
City travel to Stamford Bridge looking to bolster their bid to become the first club to win four successive titles. And while Chelsea and rivals Manchester United have been paying a heavy price for constantly changing their manager, Guardiola explained how the structure makes City so formidable.
Guardiola said: Everybody knows that results define managers, but in the bad moments how they support me, how they support my staff and everyone is the key secret. We are on the same path.
"I am talking about us. Sometimes they ask me about United, but I don't know what happens there - or at Chelsea. I would say with all due respect, I couldn't care less (about them). It is none of my business at all. I don't care, obviously. I am pretty sure they try to do their best. What I am talking about is what we have done.
"We have had bad moments. And in those moments I didn't feel... it was 'Okay, what can we do better?' We have been stable as an organisation and as a club, not just as a football team. And this means a lot that the people at the top can organise this stability for the club.”