Guardiola would rather quit Man City than change philosophy

Rob Conlon
Pep Guardiola: Acknowledged form of Liverpool

Pep Guardiola: Manager defends methods

Pep Guardiola insists he would rather walk away from Manchester City than change is footballing philosophy.

The City manager has launched a passionate defence of his approach in the wake of his side’s humbling 4-0 Champions League loss at Barcelona, a result which extended their winless run to four games.

Guardiola spoke for 32 minutes as his modus operandi was questioned at a press conference ostensibly to preview Sunday’s game against Southampton.

The main talking points from the Nou Camp loss were the sending off of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo after a dreadful error while trying to play Guardiola’s way and the omission of top scorer Aguero. That led to further questioning of the tactics Guardiola chose to deploy and the side he selected.

Asked if he ever thought of changing his plans, the former Barca and Bayern Munich boss said: “I think about that, yes, but after that the solution is not better than what I believe. So I cannot.

“Do you know why? Because in seven years I won 21 titles. So it’s three titles per year playing in that way.

“But if you believe I arrive here and in three months everything is going well and I’m going to win in the Camp Nou 0-4, I’m going to dominate against Messi and Luis Suarez, and Neymar is going to create nothing, and Iniesta isn’t going to play good, no.

“I’m good, but it’s not enough! No, I’m not going to change.

“If it’s not going well in the future, if next season isn’t going well in that way, I will go home. So, it doesn’t change.”

Guardiola earned plaudits after City opened the season with 10 successive wins but the latest sequence has brought some criticism.

Responding to his critics, Guardiola said: “One of my friends, (Everton manager) Ronald Koeman said in a press conference he never played a team like Manchester City playing football like this.

“Sorry, that is the best title for me, the best compliment I ever received. An opponent who loves football, who understands it, said ‘Wow, they play good and were unlucky’.”