Pep Guardiola hinted to cut short his reign as Manchester City manager

• Pep has warned that his tenure as Manchester City manager may come to an end.
• The Spaniard has won four league championships in the last five seasons.
• City are five points behind Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola has warned that his illustrious tenure as Manchester City manager may come to an end if his players do not heed his call to action to stop a deterioration in standards.

Despite coming back from 2-0 down to defeat Tottenham 4-2 on Thursday, Guardiola criticised his players for lacking the fire and drive to catch Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

With four league championships in the last five seasons, the Catalan coach has presided over the most prosperous stretch in the club’s history.

Guardiola even extended his contract at the Etihad in November to 2025, but he acknowledged that he has firsthand knowledge of the laziness that comes along with professional success.

“I won four La Ligas in a row when I was a football player,” said the former Barcelona midfielder.

“In the fifth (season) I was not the same, in the sixth I was not the same. I was not starving enough. I thought ´How good I am´ and Madrid beat me the fifth and the sixth.

“I understand (the challenge) but I am here to do it. The chairman knows that. I want to be here, otherwise I don´t sign.

“But if I lose the team or I lose something I cannot be here. Here people don´t wait.”

Guardiola’s team is five points behind Arsenal, who also have a game remaining.

However, if City defeats Wolves on Sunday, before Arsenal hosts Manchester United at the Emirates, the deficit at the top may be reduced to two points.

Additionally, City and Arsenal still have three games left to play against one another this year, the first of which is on Friday in the FA Cup’s fourth round.

With only half of the league season remaining, Guardiola is hopeful his public call to arms will elicit the response he is after.

“We are second in the table, we are not 25 points behind Arsenal. There are still 57 points still to play. What I am saying is playing in this way, (there is) no chance. We have time to recover,” he added.

“I´m sorry for our haters, we will be in the history books of the Premier League for what we have done — (it´s) undeniable.

“For many things, the consistency to play in a good level but that is the past. Now our fans want the second half (against Tottenham) more often and that is what we have to find.”

Guardiola said he did not regret selling Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Gunners despite the fact that they were two of the key players in Arsenal’s incredible start to the season.

“I always say when the players want to leave they cannot stay. I wish the best for Gabriel and Alex. Fantastic persons, they help us a lot,” added Guardiola.

“Of course, Erling (Haaland) came and Julian (Alvarez) and it was difficult for Gabriel. It´s normal. It was a good deal, the players that were here like Raheem (Sterling), Alex, Gabriel, I always have big compliments for what they have done when they were here.

“It was a good transfer for the club. We are not in the position that we are because we don´t have Alex and the other ones.”

Also Read

Pep Guardiola says ‘Arsenal could reach 100 points’

Pep warns Arsenal will be tough to catch in the Premier League...