Embargoed Section: Pep Guardiola’s pre-West Ham press conference part two

It’s time for part two of Pep Guardiola’s pre-West Ham discussion with the media on Tuesday afternoon.

Manchester City embark on their first game of a hectic May fixture schedule, with one of two contests in the same week as West Ham are the visitors to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.

City will be looking to respond to the result seen by Arsenal 24 hours prior, as Mikel Arteta and his players host Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night as they hope to respond to their 4-1 drubbing in Manchester last week.

In part two of Pep Guardiola’s pre-West Ham press conference, the Manchester City boss discussed Erling Haaland’s physical battles with defenders, as well as the importance of sleep and recovery at this stage of the season.

Here is every word from the embargoed section of Pep Guardiola’s pre-West Ham press conference at the City Football Academy!

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On Erling Haaland expecting to break records

“Yeah, I think so. As much as I know him a little bit, he’s so competitive, so positive in his mindset. It’s a question for him, honestly. But I think he has an incredible positive confidence in himself. It’s not arrogance, it’s self-confidence to say, ‘I’m going to score, I’m good’.

“But to arrive in the season and score 50 goals already and he already equalised the record of two legends in Andy Cole and my admirer, Alan Shearer. That’s a big, big point.”

On how Haaland’s hunger compares to the likes of Lionel Messi

“I said many times, nobody can compare with (Lionel) Messi. It won’t help Erling (Haaland). In terms of goals and mentality, yeah. But Messi has done these numbers every season during the last 10/15 years. But Erling since the start in Salzburg, in BVB, and now here – they have the same levels.

“The goals rate is almost every game, one or two goals every game, and he has the chances to do it. But Messi is the most complete player I have ever seen; in vision, in passing, in dribbling, in competitiveness, in many things that is difficult for another one.

“Hopefully Erling can be so close like Leo, it will be great for us, or for the future team that will have him. But always I said, I don’t help anyone to compare with the Argentina player.”

On whether Erling Haaland’s numbers in ‘the most competitive league in Europe’ makes his achievements even more remarkable

“The same is what is my opinion for Messi doesn’t mean Erling is not remarkable. Absolutely it is. I had the feeling, we have the feeling, that in every game he is going to score a goal and that mindset helps a lot. But it’s not just about that, he gives us many, many things.

“He’s involved in our pressing, he’s involved in our defensive rates, he’s involved in our long balls like before we didn’t have that helps us, linking with him, and after running with the other players. He helps us, he gives us an extra issue that maybe in the past we didn’t have due to the quality of the players that we had.

“Or maybe because I’m pretty sure when we are able to play long balls with Gabriel (Jesus) for example, we couldn’t do it. Gabriel is exceptional to link the ball as well, but in that period in my mindset it’s more false-nine, or link with the feet. Now, for just his presence, we can use it and we have to use it.

“Because the tactics, I said many times, is which type of players we have, which skills they have, and you have to adapt. You have to adapt to the quality they have, not because he has an idea and I’m completely just (set) on the idea. The day we will not have or I will not train Erling Haaland, we will have to adapt to the movements of the other ones.

“There were many times in the beginning that we made movements with the central defenders, and we didn’t pass the ball, because we were not used to making these type of balls in the past. We saw one day, I remember, 10 or 25 clips of this situation, look Erling, the movements they have. Look Erling. And everyone said oh if we give the ball he’s in front of the goal. Why have you not been giving it to him?

“That’s why we said in the beginning it’s going to be difficult. It takes time, it’s a question of actions, not just Kevin (De Bruyne) with him, with (Ilkay) Gundo, Bernardo (Silva), or Rodri, or the full-backs, or whatever. At the end, it was a moment like, we find him more. I remember one game against Bournemouth in the beginning, maybe he didn’t touch one ball or two balls.

“So, you have to find a solution for that. At the end, having this guy here, we have to give the ball. And sooner or later, step by step, we were able to contact more our game with him.”

On whether his past helps to understand when to be close or more distant from players in the dressing room, pre-match, at half-time, and post-match

“I don’t know because in that terms the good managers all around the world that were not footballers, maybe they have the good feelings too, to say what they have to say to the players in that period. But this is true because this situation, we lived in the previous season with Liverpool.

“Maybe we were not in all competitions like this season but the feeling I said in the last weeks, many times I think the first people that know what you are the playing for are the players. They talk about, ‘Oh wow’. I know how happy they were after the game in Fulham’s stadium, right after we finished the game you see their faces, how they celebrated, how that was and how important it was.

“But I said, at the same time, in three days later you have another one, we are sitting here looking at your marvellous faces talking about the next games. And in two days we will be sitting here again talking about your amazing faces again. It’s non-stop. So that’s why it’s relax, relax, yesterday we were relaxed, today we will be relaxed, and all energy tomorrow at 8PM.

“And in that you have to be focussed because the team, West Ham, we are going to face, they deserve it. Not because I make compliments, I always respect a lot the opponents because they are a good team. They were not maybe the perfect season, or the season that they expected, but they are a good team.”

On his main role aside from press conferences until the end of the season

“My role I think is to tell them that if you are tired, you are wrong. You are not tired. People say it’s a lot of games. When you are winning games, and you are there, I felt that a little bit as a football player in the past with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and here, playing at the end…

“What I see as a manager is dreaming, ‘Oh we are close to winning the titles’. They feel the same. They dream themselves. Now it’s a question of sleep, and sleep, and sleep, and eat a lot… not a lot, well. And drink, water – not another type of drink – and water, and water, and water. This is the best period you have to do. Take a lot of naps after lunchtime, and all energy at the moment of the game.

“The rest, we have incredible physios to take care of them. And they can do it! They did it in the past, they can do it. We are not going to lose games because, ‘Oh you are tired’. You are tired when you are out of the competitions, after you are tired. The seasons are so long, never-ending. You want to finish as soon as possible to start the next season. When you are here, you are not tired. That’s for sure.”

On how much Haaland enjoys physical battles against a central defender

“Yeah he’s strong but the opponents are strong as well. Tosin (Adarabioyo) grew up a lot since we were here, I’m delighted that a lovely person is making a career in the Premier League. But of course it’s tough for him, but it’s tough for the central defenders. We would like to not use these kind of actions, that means we play better.

“When you play these kind of actions it’s because we didn’t make a good build-up. But sometimes when the game is like it was in certain minutes, moments at Fulham or a team that makes challenges man-to-man like it happened against Arsenal, these kind of actions inevitably happen.”

On Erling Haaland enjoying physical battles

“Yeah I like it. I think he likes it. He’s Norway, come on. Vikings!”

On Erling Haaland pinching Ben Mee during Brentford meeting

“Oh yeah?! It’s my strategy, my new tactics. I don’t know…”

On why Erling Haaland transitioned right away

“Of course (there is improvement still to come). Always I said many times, with Erling it will be tough the future because you will compare with what he has done, and if he doesn’t score the goals like he’s scoring, the people will say he’s in a bad situation. But his game can improve, a lot!

“We spoke about that; the movements, I would say in the box but in the game itself he can improve. As much as I think he has that, like he has the feeling, that desire to get better as a football player. As much as he has it, he can do it. He will be happier, going to war knowing that I can do better, do something better is the way. That’s good.”

On Erling Haaland’s ability to create as well as score

“I remember when we played against Dortmund here, the day we got to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time, he made an assist for Marco Reus to make it 1-1, I think. He made an incredible assist. I think he has a good sense for the pass for the first goal for Kevin (De Bruyne) is exceptional against Arsenal.

“But his first control, touch, and he passed the ball four metres in front of Kevin, not to him, to free (space) to help to do it. He has this ability. But I think first control he can improve. That’s what we were talking about, it’s nice to have that feeling (of knowing he can improve).

“I say the same, I have the feeling that he has, when you open talking about one idea, he’s open-minded, he’s ‘Yeah, yeah I have to do it. I can do it. I can do it better’. That is so positive for him, for his career, for his life. Of course, for Man City, but especially for him.”

On how much emphasis he puts on the likes of sleep at this time of the year

“Not just this time of the year, all the season. We have an incredible department with Tom and Hannah, they are really, really good, and our cooks are exceptional as well. It’s really, really important today. The three departments, I would say four. Training is of course important but sleep, drink, and eat is really, really important today. Otherwise you cannot make a regeneration with this crazy schedule.

“At the same time, I’m saying how we prepare these guys connect seasons, and seasons, and seasons, 11 months, 11 months, three weeks off, and now we are finished, we go there, we go to the national team, and after go to Asia for the pre-season, and go, and go. That’s why most of the time you have to say, ‘Ok talk to them in the moment of the game’, because otherwise it’s too much.

“I think it’s getting worse, because the World Cup has more teams, more competitions. It’s not going to stop, or reduce, it’s going to get even worse.”