‘Not good’ – Guardiola criticizes Man City’s ‘flat’ performance in winning Salford FA Cup
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Asked if he had discussed the status of the title race with his players, he said: “We didn’t talk about it for one second. It’s just Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle.”
“We didn’t talk about rankings, standings, anything like that. It didn’t bother us. There are (still) 12 games.
“If you ask me this question with two or three games left, I will answer it, 12 games left, which is forever.
“As I said before, 12 (more) games is too many, so Newcastle is my only concern.
“We’ll be worried about that as we get closer to the League Cup final against Arsenal, but for now it’s Newcastle, rest and then Leeds. It’s always been that way.”
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McManaman: City ‘increasing pressure’ in title race after Arsenal drop points
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He added: “When we were playing, we had nine points, so whenever everyone plays the same game, you can see the difference afterwards.”
“A lot of things are going to happen. I said a few weeks ago. A lot of things are going to happen before the season is over.”
Guardiola: “They have no experience”
Guardiola has remained tight-lipped about his team’s chances of winning the title, but suggested City’s lack of experience could be a hindrance.
Of the current squad, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Rico Luiz, John Stones, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Mateo Kovacic, Mateus Nunez, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland have all won Premier League titles with City.
However, Guardiola cited the influx of new players when asked if his side would have a mental advantage over Arsenal.
“Seventy percent of the players are new, so they don’t get to experience situations like this,” he says.
“Experience means winning tomorrow. Just once.”
Guardiola was also asked if he would get a week off after City’s FA Cup win over Salford, saying: “We won’t have a day off for many months (now) and we will be playing every weekend and midweek.”
“It’s not a problem for me because I don’t have to run even a meter.I sleep better after a day or two, so that’s enough.
“It’s really good for the players. They get a week or two off — this time and the next — to forget and get a good practice. The last two days they had a good practice.”
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