Man City boss Guardiola misses pressure of Germany and Spain

17 April 2017 05:08

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola misses the pressure associated with coaching in the Bundesliga and LaLiga, though he loves English supporters.

It has been a topsy-turvy start to life for Guardiola in England, his attacking football mixed with defensive deficiencies as City fight to secure Champions League qualification.

City’s fans have stuck by the team through the good times and the bad this term with City languishing in fourth in the Premier League, which has delighted Guardiola, whose side were eliminated by Monaco in the last 16 of the Champions League.

However, former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss Guardiola insisted the best teams in the world thrive in high-pressure environments following City’s 3-0 win at Southampton.

“Sometimes when you realise you cannot lose, when you feel the pressure, the real pressure because you would be so criticised, the players make a step forward,” Guardiola said.

“Do the players believe they cannot lose? If you want to become a stronger club and a stronger team you cannot drop points at home; because our quality is higher we cannot drop points. The difference is the mentality, not the quality, which is always there.

“Here I miss a little bit the pressure. In Spain, especially in Germany, the pressure is higher to the players, to the manager, to everybody – here it is calm.

“For example, we were out of the Champions League in Monaco, we played three tough games against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, so we did not win one game but our game against Hull City, our supporters [cheering] helped us and supported us and in Italy and Spain that does not happen.”