Pep Guardiola: Players must follow my example | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola says his players must follow his example as he admitted he demands a lot of himself.

The Manchester City boss is famous for the intensity he brings to his role and his detailed approach to coaching, which has seen him lift 29 trophies in his 11 and a half seasons as a first team manager.

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Ahead of City’s game against West Ham United, Guardiola expressed his admiration for David Moyes’ calm approach whilst acknowledging that he can find it difficult to switch off from football.

It stems from the Catalan’s love of his job and he believes his players must replicate his attitude if City are to continue to be successful.

“I would love to,” he replied when asked if he had learned to relax with age.

“Sometimes I shout at my players. I should not do it but I cannot control it.

“When I was a player I was like this. It is the way I am. I don’t want to be fake with myself. Sometimes I am more calm, it depends.

“I do it because I love my job. I enjoy being a manager and I want to be better. I want to try to reach the team every day to do it better.

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“I demand a lot myself and I have to defend my team. I don’t want to feel weak. I have to be there. They have to know I don't rest.

“Now we have two days with travel. They have six days. Is it an excuse? No way. It is a challenge. The champion teams react in that way. The Premier League pose the challenge, we have to accept it.

“It is a privilege to have just two days to play and win another game. The people who believe two days is too hard cannot be in this club.

“If one day we play the day after [a game], we will. There is no tiredness. I demand it from myself and I demand it from my players too.

“They must [follow my example].”

Guardiola says the insatiable desire for improvement is part of City's culture.

The 50-year-old singled out the Club’s organisational strength as a factor in the success he has enjoyed in his five and a half years in charge and revealed he too is constantly challenged to be the best he can be.

In recent weeks, Guardiola has repeated the message that his managerial success is a product of working with such talented players and whilst he admits he does allow himself to take some credit, he believes the mentality of the Club also has a role to play.

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“Of course I give credit to myself,” he added.

“The way we play belongs to us and being energetic and saying we can do better and sustaining it for a long time.

“But to do this you need good talents, top players.

“You cannot convince me [the manager is the difference]. The difference is the players.

“If I believed the reason why is me, I would tell you. It’s not like this.

“All the big clubs in South America and Europe, the success is due to the players, the mentality. The manager can seduce them to have this mentality a little bit, but the organisation too.

“Our Chairman doesn’t want one day of sleep, doesn’t want to rest. He pushes me. I push my CEO and he pushes me and Txiki [Begiristain]. We push each other to be better and better.

“When I finished the game against Gladbach I had the feeling it may not be enough to reach the latter stage of Champions League. This is the only way to get better.

“If I did not feel we could get better I would not have extended my contract. They convinced me we could do better. If not, the team will be over.

“I have done what I came here to do in England. I came to play in a special way, I did it.

“The job is done, but I still feel we can win more and make our fans proud and enjoy ourselves.”

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