Pep Guardiola makes brutally honest sack admission as Man City struggles laid bare

Manchester City have endured a difficult season and Pep Guardiola is under no illusions about the fact that he could have been facing the sack at any other club

Pep Guardiola believes that he might have been sacked this season if he had been at any other club.

The Manchester City boss is desperate to repay chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chief executive Ferran Soriano and sporting director Txiki Begiristain for handing him a new two-year contract rather than giving him the boot during the toughest year of his managerial career.

Guardiola insists that now finishing in the top four would be a major achievement after winning a record four successive Premier League titles.

But he hasn’t vowed to stick around to finish the major rebuild that began last month with a £170million transfer-market splash to bring in four new faces.

City face table-topping Liverpool – and Guardiola said: “I have a contract for two more years, so I don’t have to make some compliments – but I have to do it.

“I have not been sacked for the results that have happened (this season) because the results in the past have been extraordinary. But it’s especially because of the type of chairman, CEO and sporting director that we have. In other clubs, other big clubs, or another culture…

“Of course, we are fourth. We are not bottom of the league. Even how we struggled, still we are in more than a decent place.

“We’re not fighting for the Premier League. The FA Cup, we are there. In the Champions League, we’ve been miles and miles away. It has been unlike what we expected at the beginning of the season.

“But always I felt that whatever happened, they (the club) will be there. I am so, so sorry that maybe other managers will talk about their bosses because they won’t extend their contract – but that is not the case here. They have been amazing.”

City crashed out of the Champions League with a 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid on Wednesday night when Carlo Ancelotti’s men completed a 6-3 aggregate triumph. They now face Liverpool trailing the Merseysiders by a staggering 17 points – and qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition for a 15th consecutive season is now the No 1 priority.

Asked what finishing in the top four would mean, Guardiola said: “Unbelievable. Wow. We go to dinner, you and me. I invite you. You choose the restaurant, I pay 100percent, for sure. It will be a big achievement. It’s true.

“The last seasons we also had problems but always we were able to find solutions. But the amount of the problems that we have, you know, I could not handle it.

“But still we have three months ahead of us and the target is to qualify for the Champions League. It would be a big success.

“I am an incredibly positive person. Always I see the bright side of the situation. I’m not saying I’m not seeing the reality of the situation, but I am always positive.”

Guardiola feels his team have achieved things during his first eight years at the Etihad that will never be emulated. Four-in-a-row came after the Treble, a uniuque domestic quadruple and a season which saw City become the first club to win 100 points in a single season.

Guardiola added: “Maybe in the future this season will be good for the club, to help people understand everything and what it’s like to stay so long after many, many years without winning the biggest trophies.

“Now everyone in this room, myself, all of you, realise what we have done and will put it in perspective. I could say before ‘guys it is so difficult,’ and people think that for Man City it is easy.

“But now everybody realises how incredible it is what we have done. It will not be emulated – not even by this club.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.