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

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

Manchester City will look to close off their 2022/23 Premier League-winning campaign in style, as they travel south for the second time this week to take on Brentford on Sunday afternoon.

City partook in an enthralling south coast meeting on Wednesday night, as they met with the ever-impressive Brighton & Hove Albion in a 1-1 draw that featured a sensational solo strike from the hosts’ Julio Enciso.

The clash against Thomas Frank’s men will be Pep Guardiola’s final opportunity to test the rotation and rest approach to matches at this stage of the season, before they meet Manchester United in the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley next Saturday.

With the maintaining of form as imperative as retaining fitness and health amongst his first-team squad, it will once again be interesting to see how Guardiola lines-up his team at the Brentford Community Stadium.

In part two of Pep Guardiola’s pre-Brentford press conference, the City boss discussed the situation surrounding striker Ivan Toney, the recent goalscoring form of Erling Haaland, and whether it’s difficult to visualise winning the two remaining cup finals.

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

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On whether it would be a dream to ‘blow away’ Manchester United and Inter

“No, it’s not about that. I know you want the headline. I think the headline today is your t-shirt, the green one. You have to learn…”

On whether winning is all that matters in the two finals

“Yeah, of course. We respect them a lot, Manchester United for what they have done in this country, in Europe. It’s just a football game, so we don’t misunderstand. They want to beat us, I don’t know the reasons why, but like we want to beat them and we know how important it is for our fans.

“But it’s a football game, it’s just to figure out what Erik (ten Hag) has done to us in two games, and what we can figure out to do it, and I saw the pace they have, the rhythm they have, the personality with (Raphael) Varane and Casemiro – they have won, I don’t know, I can’t count how many Champions Leagues they’ve won.

“These games are how you behave, the quality, it’s not tactics – tactics are important, of course it is, but it’s the composure to play this type of game. And I think they have it. But in the last years we were better, I’m pretty sure they want to beat us, but at the same time we want to beat them.”

On whether he can understand how important it is for City fans to beat United en route to a treble

“I said in the press conference, we’re going to try to talk about the treble after the game against United. After the game against United, I am going to accept for the first time, ‘Pep, are you thinking about winning the treble?’ Okay, I will answer you. Not before, because at the end United is United. Always has been, always will be. And after, the Champions League final.”

On whether he hopes Ivan Toney can resume an outstanding career after his suspension

“Absolutely. Here we’re not here to give lessons to the other ones, everyone has our problems for ourselves. If he made a mistake, he will accept it, and people, society have always, always, whatever you have done – not always, there are things that cannot be forbidden or forgotten – but it’s not the case.

“I’m pretty sure he will be better, and I’m very pleased like his manager and the club support him because this is what it means, in the bad problems, in the bad moments, and the problems that you have, that all of us we do. Learn from that and a new opportunity.”

On whether he has any sympathy for Thomas Frank

“Absolutely. What he has done since… So they were not promoted to the Premier League years ago, for the last game, the year after they did it, and after look what happened last season, this season again – this is consistency. They know exactly what they have to do. They beat almost all of the top six. It’s so difficult to play against them, but it’s incredible proof for us.

“It’s really, really, really good how they sustain their long balls, second balls. How they sustain their throw-ins, free-kicks, corners – they are the best team in the Premier League. Because in the finals it’s a decisive aspect to control. And after they make two different sides like high-pressing, man-to-man, quite similar to Brighton, how we can break them.

“But at the same side when you do it, they drop and they drop defensively like from 40 metres there are 11 players, how can you break that. Also it’s important for our future. It’s a good test, a good proof, and go for it. It’s really a good test.”

On whether the potential of a double over City for Brentford gives the game extra spice

“For us, no. At the end in the Premier League we have to be honest. They can beat us whatever you want, as much as you win the Premier League, it’s enough. If they beat us for a reason, we have to learn from that. People say, I remember, ‘People are thinking of the World Cup’. It was the previous game before the World Cup. Bullshit. They beat us because they were better. They were better in the first six long balls, they won it. And we talked about that.

“This type of games, one aspect is to control that. And you have to review it, and you have to… it is what it is. Also, we never win at Spurs away. But win the Premier League, so it doesn’t matter, honestly. In a knock-out game, yeah. If it was a knock-out game and they beat us here 1-2, you have to go there to win, now it will be important. But in the Premier League it doesn’t count.”

On whether he finds it difficult not to look ahead

“No. Of course, I’m thinking of United, and of course I’m thinking of Inter – more than Brentford, yeah.”

On whether it’s hard to not think about visualising winning

“To visualise winning I have to work, and I have to know the opponent, and I have to study the opponent to know, ‘Oh if we do this or do that, we are close to winning’. We are not going to win because just… So, Brentford and United and Inter are the last games that still remain, also they want to win. They’re going to study. As a manager, always I’m scared to lose, always I’m afraid, always I have a good strengths and good things of the opponents. It doesn’t matter which one, it doesn’t matter.

“And I have to see it and watch it to be calm in myself, and give my calmness to my players. Without that, I could not live. That’s why the consistency has been really, really good throughout the years. But now, once we are in the league I was focussed on Brighton because Brighton I felt that if we were not like we were, they can not just beat you, beyond… That’s why I insisted on the players. And Brentford will be the same. I said, ‘After winning the Premier League guys, relax, just need you 95 minutes at the moment of the game to be ready. The rest? Relax. Because I cannot demand more from you after what we have come from’. They came from a so exhaustive period. Really, so exhausted, and it helped us to win, win, helped us to be active.

“But if you drop in that, I don’t know how we will have sustained because the schedule is crazy; and the World Cup. I relaxed during the World Cup, but the players no way. Just three players stayed here during the World Cup period. The tension for the World Cup, and after competition, being behind Arsenal for a long period with a big margin, the Champions League and you know what it means for this club, and the FA Cup still we are there, all the time in the semi-finals of the FA Cup a disaster, we are out and this year we could reach it.

“And that, the moment we win, I cannot demand more. Be relaxed. But the moment, you have to do it. And this is the only concern I have. But of course my mind is with the players. The players… Phil Foden: To get him out, you have to break his leg. He’s played with pain, injuries, ‘Oh no I’ll play I’m fine’. Last game, at half-time, he said, ‘I have a pain in my leg’. He’s thinking of United, he’s thinking of Inter. It’s normal, because the Premier League is already in our pocket.

“But me myself, I’m watching more and thinking more about United than a little bit Brentford. But today and tomorrow, I’ll be focused on Brentford and we’ll watch it and tell the players what we have to do.”

On whether he feels there is an importance to projecting calm and relax to the players, and did he do that with his Barcelona players

“Yeah in that period I was more relaxed in the daily, but in the moment of the game, no. But now in the day-to-day, yeah I’m more (relaxed). With the players, I don’t bother them much, just in the moment you have to train and play the game.”

On whether it is important Erling Haaland gets back to scoring before the two finals

“I’m not going to doubt about the scoring machine of Erling right now. He’s had the chances. Maybe he’s waiting for the right moment. He will be ready in the right moment to score the goals. He’s ready. I’m very pleased that he’s achieved all that he’s achieved and the goals and records.

“To go to Brighton and play the way he played, fighting against two young lads, and demanding a lot, and finishing with the legs and body, the damage that he has, and still there. He could say, ‘No, no I’m waiting for the two finals’. It’s completely the opposite, and I like that. He is ready… Anyway, he scored a goal.”

On whether he has been impressed by the way he has dealt with talk of scoring records

“I don’t feel he had much pressure. I think he handled it really well. At the age of 22 years-old, 23 years-old, to handle the expectation that he has and do that. He laughs. I think when people expect, he laughs. I remember in the Community Shield, he lost 3-1, he missed one clear chance, and all the memes and all the people talk about that – I didn’t know him, eachother, just one month together, I was close to him. He said, ‘Pft. Don’t worry. I will score goals.’ He’s this type of guy.

“And the moment he doesn’t score, he will be ambitious to score. He has an incredible self-confidence in himself that always he has the chance to score goals. That is the biggest value as a football player. It doesn’t matter what happens. Define the football players and athletes in the bad moments; how you react. You know the Boston Celtics, three down against Miami, three-two. Now they showed who they are. This is the point.”

On whether he has enjoyed the challenge of rebuilding City teams after big players leave

“I’ve been (here) longer (than at Barcelona/Bayern Munich). At Barcelona it was a short time. What I’m saying here at City, we are who we are thanks to the people who were here before. We learned from all of them. At the end, if you rebuild the team – because it’s normal when you are here six/seven years – for the strength for the club. It does not just belong to me.

“At the end, if we go Sergio (Aguero) and after Gabriel (Jesus) and come Erling (Haaland), it belongs to the club, not to me. If the club don’t bring me here, sitting close to me Erling Haaland, we cannot do it. We underestimate, here the club and our hierarchy, it’s the key point of this organisation. They make, they put the club in this position, thanks to the strength that we have in the club. Otherwise, without these players, you cannot do what we have done in these years, and without the players you need a strong and solid club – without that you cannot do it.

“They are smart, they are wise, they know exactly what they want to do, going well or wrong. Here in this business, everyone makes mistakes. Here they don’t have the magic solution like everything that you do. You make a lot of mistakes, try to do less as possible. But here it’s not a club, not even a sporting director, manager, that like, ‘Do this and everything works perfectly’.

“You have to take a decision, be courageous to take it, and after that accept it that sometimes it goes wrong. It doesn’t matter. Do it less as possible, and do more positives than negative things. And I think this club, not in our period, the last 10, 12, 14 years, they are doing really, really, really well.”