Pep’s five-minute rant on ‘lack of pace’ and a final message to Kyle Walker – Part Two of Guardiola’s pre-Chelsea press conference | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has addressed the media ahead of Manchester City’s return to Premier League action on Saturday evening when Chelsea visit the Etihad Stadium.

Here is every single word from part two of the Manchester City manager’s press conference, with the embargo now lifted on the Premier League champions’ head coach’s media conference from the City Football Academy on Friday afternoon!

On whether he is OK with what he has got in the Manchester City squad

“Yeah, maybe…”

On defensive midfield

“I don’t know. I will not tell you, I don’t know.”

On options in that position if someone is not signed

“Listen, I said one week ago, we are who are we are. If players come, it’s fine. I’ll say it again; we do it (sign players) because normal circumstances we delayed from the previous season because the previous season we were not so active in the last transfer market because we were the champions for many years and being so consistent in many situations and immediately it occurred what happened. We didn’t expect it. And we decided to, instead of doing it in the summer, do it now. What’s going to happen, I don’t know. We will see.”

On James McAtee and speculation over his future

“I would love him to stay here. I repeat again; it was not the last four or five months, in Sheffield (United) he was not quite often playing, and I was the one who relied on him to stay and to come back, to come back, to come back. I wanted him to stay! But what’s going to happen, like on potential new incomings, I don’t know.”

On Kyle Walker and how much he will be missed

“Just thank you so much for the seven years he has been with us, and the amount of trophies and consistency and being ready, an important figure. I said personally to him, I said personally in front of the group, we wish him all the best, for him, his family, and that’s all.”

On missing him in a playing sense for the rest of the season

“He decided to leave.”

On Abdukodir Khusanov

“Well, since the beginning of the season, when we made meetings with Txiki (Begiristain) and all the people, they said the potential players in everyone position, and they started to talk about him. And for the situation with John (Stones), like Nathan (Ake), of course Manu (Akanji) and Ruben (Dias), it helps so we should go to the market.

“And the people said, this is a potential player for the conditions for the next years because all the players we don’t sign for one year. There are big, big years to come here, and that’s we decided to do it; we saw his specific qualities that we didn’t have, or we don’t have, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to help us.

“And of course he’s young, he’s going to learn like Vitor (Reis), like Omar (Marmoush) to understand, they need time but of course always it’s better to do in summer time to have the process of a pre-season but as much as we have new players to have more potential being from the bench, or potential playing every three days, that is important for us.”

On Abdukodir Khusanov’s position

“Yeah I think he can play central, right-back, he can play in a back-three on the right, he can play at right-back as a three-at-the-back, with three in the middle. So he can play in different positions, yeah.”

On Abdukodir Khusanov’s pace – something that was needed, especially in midfield: “I don’t think just the speed from Khusanov is going to solve our problems. It can help us. Of course speed is important when you do it. But against Paris Saint-Germain we ran more than them. The problem was with the ball. People have spirit, and do it, of course we are not the most offensive team.

“But what defines our team is what we do with the ball, we run but we are not an incredible defensive team. Always was with the ball and with the ball, we were good at Ipswich, but this season it’s what we missed. What we have to do is pass the ball more! We want to run to be quick, we want to make the actions without pause, without our compose with the ball.

“If you have the ball and you don’t pass the ball properly to your mate, and your mate to another one and another one, everything is so difficult. And after that, when that happens, and you lose balls that normally didn’t happen in the past, what happens is you have to be more close, and we are not great for that.

“If you see the team; Savinho, and (Jeremy) Dokus, and Kevin (De Bruyne), and even Phil (Foden), and even (Ilkay) Gundo right now, or whatever, any team, ANY, the 20 in the Premier League are better than us! So today the statistics, how many runs, how many of that, now we are running more than ever in these nine years compared to the opponents!

“But football, people are confused, is not about that. It’s what you do with the ball. The other one is spirit, it’s heart, and when you run more than the opponent, they have heart, they have spirit. But you have to do it better… Of course you have to run, now the teams compared to when I arrived are unbelievable.

“When I arrived, all the keepers long ball. Now all the keepers are central defenders. And all the keepers make their central defender wide, and they make a process, they come a lot of players, everyone is in the pocket… And the people now, you struggle more to regain the ball than it was before when I arrived nine years ago. Now you have to be sweaty.

“But what is the problem when we have the ball? It’s the problem. So when I said they were better, it’s about that. To define our team is the ball. They hired me as a manager for that, and now we are struggling in those terms and we have to recover. Otherwise, we will not qualify for the Champions League next stage, we will not qualify for the top 24.

“We are not going to be in the Champions League. Many big clubs, teams, like Chelsea right now for example is not in the Champions League. (Manchester) United is not in the Champions League. It can happen to us? Yeah, definitely it can happen to us, not being there. But we have to try to do it because we are in time, we are in time to qualify for the Champions League, we are in time for the Premier League fight, for the FA Cup fight, it’s time to recover who we are, what we do with the ball.

“Do a better process in the build-up, do a better process, and maybe we have to change something to make them comfortable with the ball. The shape, or something. But the essence will be the same, but maybe you have to do something to help them to be comfortable. I said a month ago, what has happened and is happening is we are not playing, and something I’m missing. Something I’m missing.

“And I have to discover it quick! Because the players, what I said then, they run a lot! But they play better, with intensity they are more physical, strong, but yeah him and Brighton and Bournemouth and all the teams are physically better than us. For the age, for many things, even the toughest, the toughest of quickest and stronger players that we had, they decided to leave the club.

“So we have to recover what we are, what we do with the ball. Knowing that it’s more difficult because before never a team made man-marking. The first team I saw years ago to make man-marking was Neil Warnock in Cardiff. I remember. And we suffered. And after Atalanta with (Gian Piero) Gasperini and he made it cool.

“And now everyone is, it doesn’t matter. I remember the people came here to the Etihad; stay back, leave the process. Now it changed! Everyone comes here, ‘It doesn’t matter, man-to-man’. They jump to Ederson, Stefan (Ortega Moreno). So you have to adapt, and you have to adapt to be better with the ball. Otherwise… You will be happy we don’t qualify for the Champions League.”

On whether the three Manchester City signings were already in mind for the summer

“No the market evolved. Your needs, basically it’s your needs. If you have all the central defenders fit, fit, fit, fit, fit, fit, we would not have central defender signings.”

On players unavailable in January and looking for available players

“Listen, it is what it is. The market, I said, is evolving, it comes here and there. Now we decided these players for the problems that we’ve had all the season and we bring them here for not just three months or one month. And they will have time to adapt, they will have time to play not good because they’re coming for time.

“It’s going to help us because in the last game we had five or six players from the Academy and to compete every three days you need players. I know the people say, ‘Ah they have to buy again’. All the teams who have success, they have to go to the markets. Every team. I said many times, the biggest teams in this country for two decades, three decades, spend more than the other ones.

“And in the last years, you say; the last five years we are 11th for net spend. Last season we were not because the team was good, was healthy and was consistent and made something that never, ever a team has done. So that’s why I’m the only one in this club, maybe the only one in this beautiful room and all around the world that relies on my team unbelievably. But you have circumstances that we cannot handle it, and we need players.

“You cannot play without, and now we have that, and recover some patterns, and visualise with some players and make them feel that they are much better. Because listen, we are not going to qualify, we are going to make maybe this month or month and a half, or two months for a long time, until the end of the season.

“Never, never will we have any doubt about these players, or this club, or what we have done, or what we have, or what we will do. And I know! I know because what we are living, all the clubs around the world, it happens. I didn’t expect in that position to be in the Champions League, or qualifying being in that position there. But no.

“In the beginning I will not think that we could not qualify being 24th, and we can be out if we don’t win against Brugge, that is already a strong team. But circumstances happen this season, and arriving in the right moments in the Champions League, we were not there for many, many, many, many reasons.

“And OK, still we have it lucky to be in our hands, the last chance. In the Champions League, still maybe qualify four teams, maybe qualify five teams for the Champions League next season, and still we are there. We have a tough calendar, yeah, we are not in the best position of circumstances, ABSOLUTELY.

“I’m not stupid enough to know how is our standards and what are our standards and level, everybody knows it. And we have to do a diagnosis and have to have the players to say, ‘Guys now you are better than you believe’. Still I believe they are a fantastic group of players, a fantastic team like we have proven, and we have defined with these players in seven, eight, nine years most of them for two months?!

“The results and bad results are going to change the opinion of what they have done in eight or nine years? Never, ever, ever is going to happen. I have much love and respect and the legacy that this club has done, the joy for me personally, and all the people around the City family that we have done it. We know that. I saw it many times.

“Three months ago, two months, this season we are going to suffer. I smelt it. And it happened. And it’s going to happen. When I said, Ipswich Town we are back or against Leicester we are back?! Take time. Still… Next season we will be back, really.

“Now is a question of surviving, to qualify, to fight for the title if it is possible if we arrive, otherwise accept that the reality is completely different to what we have had in the last eight, nine years. So the normality is what we have done. That, I am pretty sure of that. And that made me realise even better now that what we have done was exceptional! EXCEPTIONAL!

“Not anyone can top that, so far. Maybe in the future. But no one. Now is accept the reality, and as much as you accept it, that we are not, but never forget who we are, how good we are, we will move forward, and hopefully tomorrow with our people.

“We need them more than ever, all of them. I think these players gave the joy to be proud of our club, and they have to help us. Because it will be a tough game, it will be an incredibly tough game on Wednesday, and all the games will be like that. So we have to do it together.”

On whether finishing in the Champions League places for next season would be like winning a trophy

“Yeah. An incredible achievement, no. But there are seasons that there a lot of difficulties, and how you stand up, how you stay here, stay here and do it, and achieve it. I remember Jose (Mourinho) – I don’t know the reality and what I said many times – finished 2nd at that time (with Manchester United) was the biggest success. I understand completely!

“When everyone, when Rodri is here, when all the central defenders is here, and many players are all there, we will fight! We will not be 25th now, in the Champions League, we will not! The team is exceptional! I think, because it’s quite similar, it’s really, really good. We have pride, and it’s good.

“But now, sometimes you live these kind of situations and when you live this situation and you achieve, of course it’s a biggest success. But I think the hierarchy, the sporting directors, CEOs, the players know that! Because sometimes life gives you circumstances. Ruben (Dias) is never injured! And now plays one or two games and is injured.

“Nathan (Ake) and John (Stones) cannot be sustaining like in some periods, the year of the Treble John played all the games. Now he can’t! And the teams are defined. I’ve said many times when we had success, that belongs to the players. Players create the ideas and everything good.

“But now we didn’t have that season, and you have to – with new players and everyone – recover and change especially here (in the head) the momentum in our minds that we can do it.”