Guardiola insists his Manchester City team doesn’t lack leaders

Pep Guardiola insists his City team doesn’t lack leaders

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists his team has the leaders to step up in the crunch part of the season, as defending Premier League champions play catch-up to Liverpool after losing four of their previous nine league games. 

City slumped to a 2-1 defeat Newcastle in midweek, and despite the Reds not taking advantage of that, Guardiola’s men are still five points behind Merseysiders.

With the games against Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea to come in space of seven days, the Cityzens must bounce back with their title on the line.

And Guardiola says he believes his team has enough leaders who can step up when required. Speaking to the media, he said: “I have a lot of leaders, people who make a step forward when it’s going badly, but you have to do it again and again.

“Of course there are guys with huge personalities to talk, to communicate, but that is for [the player] themselves.

“I’m not going to say to a guy who’s shy, who plays with a lot of character on the pitch but off the pitch is quiet and doesn’t talk too much, ‘You have to talk.’ That comes from inside.

“I’ve met incredible players who didn’t speak one word, and a lot of players speak a lot in the locker room [saying], ‘I want to do that.’ And they go on the pitch and under pressure: ‘I don’t want the ball, I don’t want to defend.’ [I have met] many of this kind.

“So everyone is like everyone, but to say, ‘That team [City], they don’t have the personality to do that,’ I think … we can do more, of course – myself the first – but I think we have it.”

Manchester City play Arsenal tomorrow evening as they seek to get within two points of Liverpool, who in turn play West Ham on Monday.

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