Pep Guardiola inspired me last week - I wish I had joined Man City sooner (2025)

Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol has worked with Pep Guardiola for two years but wishes they had been together for longer

Pep Guardiola has had the worst year of his managerial career but is still inspiring Manchester City players. As well as having the backing of his bosses to keep leading at the Etihad despite a horrendous drop in form this season, the manager continues to motivate his squad.

Guardiola's future continues to be a talking point for the football community, with many questioning why someone who has already admitted they have achieved everything they could at the club has signed up for another two seasons. He has also taken the blame for the underachievement this season, asking publicly if he has what it takes to get the team back to where they need to be.

The team seemed to take a step forward at Bournemouth last week in the FA Cup though, with Guardiola delighted afterwards that they were finally showing the commitment and hunger that had previously brought them unprecedented success. Josko Gvardiol had played in World Cups and Champions Leagues before joining City and is nearly two years into his time at the Etihad, yet found something significant and new from what Guardiola said to him last week.

“When I got back home, I was thinking about the meeting we had before the game. To be honest, I said to myself, I'm so unlucky that I haven't joined earlier," he said.

“That I didn’t have the opportunity to work with him earlier - you know what I mean? On Sunday he said something that really changed my mind a little bit.

"I'm not going to tell it, but I just want to say that I wish you could have the opportunity to sit with him and listen to his speech.

“I know you see him here at the press conference and he's a bit different, but the way he works and the way he represents everything he knows, his knowledge and his ideas, it's just different."

City head into the United game on Sunday knowing that they need three points at Old Trafford to go towards their new target of finishing in the top four. Results have not been anywhere near consistent enough to mount a title challenge, and there is still plenty of work to do to avoid falling into the Europa League spots.

Several City players have spoken of the difficulties of both this season and of adapting to revised targets. No European football and longer weeks to train should have given the squad an advantage, yet those have not really been seen in the results.

Gvardiol admits that City 'heads have gone' as they try to salvage anything from the season, although that hasn't stopped Guardiola from being able to get through to his players.

“It was like a meeting and then, let's call it a pre-match talk. It was inspiring. Especially after the whole season and everything," he said.

"We are at the end of the season and we know that our heads are already gone. But there are still ten games to go, so I think he's the one who is trying to keep us on the ground."

---

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.