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

It’s time for part two of Pep Guardiola’s pre-Chelsea discussion with the media from Friday afternoon.

Manchester City will look to lift their fifth Premier League title in the last six years, and their third crown in successive seasons, in style on Sunday afternoon when Frank Lampard’s side make the trip north to the Etihad Stadium.

The contest against the struggling Stamford Bridge outfit comes in an extremely rich vein of form for Manchester City, that has put them within three wins of a historic treble of silverware, with the Premier League title being the first opportunity in that run.

In part two of Pep Guardiola’s pre-Chelsea press conference, the Manchester City boss discussed whether he feels he has changed English football during his time at the club, the drama of English football across the divisions, and just how much he feels his side need to win the Champions League in order to cement their place in the history books.

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

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On when he decides whether a player will eventually come good

“When I arrive at the beginning of the season, I go to my sporting director and say, ‘Did you sign some players or do any players have any clause that says they have to play 100% every single game?’ And he said to me, ‘No’. There is not one player in contract that we sign that says they have to play. They have to accept my decision, everyone accepts it.

“It’s difficult for the players to accept that maybe they are not on form, or there is a tactical decision, or for many things. I don’t explain to them because they will not understand, but I can explain to them the reasons why they don’t play. But they have to know that the season is so long, and everyone when they have the opportunity has to be ready, and they have to fight against their mates to opposition.

“During the season, during seven years, John (Stones) now, how good he is playing. But some periods they were not playing, why? Maybe it was my mistake or maybe he was not on the top or maybe because they need another player, his mate that is playing better than him. You have to accept it, life is like that. Always it is not perfect.”

On whether his Barcelona side and this current Manchester City side deserve to be spoken about on similar terms, and what makes them so special

“The team is really good that we are, but I am in agreement with the media and when the people say, ‘You have to lift Europe, you have to lift again to be considered in the same type as that team’. Those teams win in Europe, not just once, many times. And we were not.

“At the end, the joy is so nice. It’s amazing being here again, and again. Nothing is going to change if we lift it, or don’t lift it. But if we want to be considered one of the best teams, we have to win the Champions League. Otherwise… My opinion is not going to change, but to be in the books, the real books, you have to be there.”

On whether his first treble at Barcelona helps him in the coming weeks, and what it was like to win that in his first season at Camp Nou

“I don’t remember when we won the treble there what I have done, what I did. I don’t remember. I think in that period, I remember I said, ‘What’s next?’ Of course, winning one title helps to win the second one, and winning the second one helps to win the third one. The dynamic helps you a lot, the mood helps you a lot.

“Not winning the Premier League will make it tough to win against (Manchester) United. And not winning the FA Cup will make it tough to win against Inter Milan. That I remember perfectly. I don’t know what the mood, the environment, and everything, I said, ‘Oh wow, we won already, now the second one’. That helps.

“That’s why as soon as possible we were able to win the Premier League, it doesn’t matter when – if we are not able to win against Chelsea, hopefully against Brighton, otherwise against Brentford. So it helps to fight against Man United, that will be so, so difficult for many reasons. I will try to consider to talk about this word, I try to avoid it as much as possible in my mind, if we are able to win the titles before. Otherwise, it will be more difficult.”

On whether English football has changed him as a coach

“Absolutely I didn’t change (English football). Football belongs to English football, and every manager has his own ideas. I didn’t change anything, honestly. In Germany, it changed me as a manager, and here, of course because I had new players, and new styles, and new managers and faces, and new way to relate with the media, with my players.

“Every manager, as much as you long your career, you are a better manager now than you were in the beginning. I don’t have any doubts about that… Being in the three competitions, this is the most fascinating.

“Yesterday I saw for a time Sheffield (Wednesday) against Peterborough; 4-0, 4-0 and after, extra-time and penalties to be in a play-off to go to the Championship. Only that can happen the environment that I saw. I can imagine; I can see that in Spain, I can see that in Germany, I can see that in Italy? It’s impossible. The crowd… It was live on Sky, no other countries do that. They respect a lot the top, top, top clubs, they are more followed than the other ones, but here the respect for the lower divisions is hats off.

“That’s why this country is special, how the people – I don’t know how (big) the crowd was, 35,000, 40,000? (To journalist) You’re from Sheffield? Congratulations! 33,000, full and crazy after 4-0. In other countries, 4-0? No chance. It’s 4-4! And after, 4-1, 5-1, penalties – this is England! That’s why it’s unique! That’s why it’s so special, and that’s why I’m a long time here! I love it.”

On whether the Premier League charges did him a favour in getting the reaction out of the Manchester City players that he wanted

“No because you can be angry one day when you are accused of something like we said, ‘Wait, please’. And after, we will accept everything. But being angry comes from that day, for the next days, but you don’t have the angry from that, for 10/11 months. You have to sustain from something, the basis, the fundamentals, the way we play, and the desire from every single player.

“Once we are there, yeah we have four Premier Leagues, why do we have to fight for another one? Why should we stop? Why should we stop losing in the semi-finals of the Champions League next season? Why should we not try it again, and again, and again? The biggest teams are always never starving enough, always want to eat more and more. I don’t think we played for that reason.”