Pep Guardiola backs Ronald Koeman to succeed at Barcelona | OneFootball

Speaking in his pre-match press conference for Manchester City ahead of their Premier League encounter with West Ham, Pep Guardiola admitted that he believes Ronald Koeman “needs a little more time” to get Barcelona playing the way he wants as the first Clásico of the season takes place this weekend.

On Saturday, Koeman will take charge of his first Clásico as a head coach, making him the seventh Dutch boss to lead Barcelona into the prestigious LaLiga fixture. Guardiola, who coached the Catalan club to 14 trophies in four years from 2008 to 2012, believes the circumstances are so abnormal this season, with last term having been heavily disrupted and the close season cut short, that any new boss would deserve time to implement his plans.

“Sometimes you need a little bit of time to get everything. Especially with Barcelona with Ronald, that being new he needs a little bit more time. But I’m pretty sure they will get it to where they want. Normally at the beginning of the season, the big clubs maybe struggle a little bit. But they will get their own rhythm, their own path, and I think sooner or later, both teams (Real Madrid & Barcelona) will be winning games in a row, and they will be getting back in normal positions that every season they are in all competitions.“