Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola on transfers, the importance of upcoming games, their recent form and Enzo Maresca's Chelsea
Etihad training campus, Manchester, UK
Etihad training campus, Manchester, UK
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00:00Afternoon, guys, hope you're well, same process as ever,
00:06we've got mikes on either side, we'll set an embargo partway through for 10.30pm this evening.
00:10Simon, please.
00:14Hi, Pep, I hope you're OK.
00:17The club signed Omar Mahmoud yesterday,
00:21could you first of all explain what the thinking is behind that,
00:25and where he's likely to play in your team?
00:29The reason why it was the potential signings,
00:32due to the last season we didn't do much,
00:36due to the exceptional quality of the team,
00:39we anticipated three or four months, we should do it in summer,
00:42we had to do it here for the amount of injuries, the problems that we had,
00:46and the club thought that he's a potential future for many years,
00:52with incredible quality in the final third, and that's why we did it.
00:57You've signed three players this week,
01:01will they go straight into your squad for tomorrow's game?
01:04Yeah.
01:05All of them?
01:05Yeah.
01:07We don't have players.
01:10Could any of the two, Rice and Kosanov, could either of them play?
01:16I don't know that, I don't know yet.
01:19They can play, but I don't know yet.
01:27Can you give us an update on any injuries that have flowed from the game against PSG?
01:33Which ones?
01:34Are there any injuries, is everyone fit?
01:37Not the same injuries that we had, Ruben is out, Doku is out,
01:44the players that we had out are out.
01:47How important is this game against Chelsea, with you both going for a Champions League place?
01:51They are really important for the quality of the side, or what Chelsea have been.
01:57They're closing the table, even the big, big problems that we had in the past,
02:03the recent past, and, yeah.
02:06This week is really, really important, the next two games are finals for us,
02:11so we're going to, with our people,
02:14they're going to support us to do good performance and take the results that we need.
02:19If you don't make the Champions League, how concerning would that be?
02:23Sorry?
02:24If you don't make the Champions League, how concerning would that be?
02:26We could make it.
02:29You confident?
02:32I should think differently.
02:37You can ask me as well, what night will you qualify for the Champions League?
02:41What's going to happen, I'm going to answer, but I think it's going to happen.
02:45Always I'm very, very positive, but what's the next target?
02:51Hi Pep, after this game and Bruges, you've got the likes of Arsenal,
02:59Newcastle, Liverpool, Spurs, all coming up in February,
03:01how important is the next few weeks for your season?
03:05And Nottingham.
03:12Chelsea.
03:14And after Bruges, we'll see day by day.
03:17And just how impressed have you been by the job that Enzo Maresco has done at Chelsea,
03:22and how much do you think they've improved under him this season?
03:25A lot.
03:28I think I recognise the team from day one, even when we played in summer camp in the States,
03:34many things I started to see, that we spoke many, many times in the last years together,
03:41so, yeah, really good.
03:43I'm very pleased, he was a lucky man to work with him in the last years,
03:49and everything happened with him and his family is fine, I'm fine.
03:53I'm happy, fine.
03:55Pep, good afternoon, just wondered what impression you've had of your three new players at training,
04:00because I'm guessing they're coming to a new club, they'll be very excited.
04:03What have your impressions been of them in training so far this week?
04:07Yeah, good.
04:08So, we didn't train much, because we travel, games travel,
04:10so we didn't make training sessions all together, I think they didn't make ones.
04:14Omar, Mamouche, yes, he was the first, and the other one Serenity a bit, but not all together.
04:20Yeah, fine.
04:23Victor is young, has a huge personality, needs time, and...
04:31Kuznenov has already settled, and for the fact that playing in a French league,
04:36you have to handle with tough, quick, fast players,
04:38but of course, he doesn't speak much English, not French,
04:43so communication will be one of the situations that you have to deal with,
04:48and Omar, yeah, yesterday was the training session, the first training,
04:54so I think he will adapt quick.
04:56After what happened in midweek, do you sense that they'll come in and energise the group?
05:00What reaction have you sensed from the rest of the players?
05:03Well, new players can help, of course they are here for that reason,
05:06again, it could not happen with the amount of circumstances that we had.
05:10Tomorrow we have just one central defender, plus a little bit...
05:14No, we have more, I would say, because Kuz and Ed,
05:17but for Brugge, for example, we have one or two available,
05:23and that's why it's important for us to deal with the amount of games that we have,
05:27to have more and more squad, but the best energy is when you can win games and play good,
05:32and that's why we have to try to do it again.
05:35It's a big game against Chelsea, if you win you go back into the top four,
05:38have you got to be mindful of how big a game it is before putting them in,
05:41maybe the starting line-up or maybe on the bench, because they're new players?
05:46Every game is important, and the season that we are having to qualify for the next season
05:52in the Champions League, and of course it is for the quality of the opponent,
05:59so they play really good, the patterns, the quality up front, the speed,
06:05they do really, really good things, and I'm pretty sure with the six days they had,
06:08they prepared well for the game against us.
06:11Hi Pep, what was the problem with Ruben Dias and how serious is it?
06:15Abductor.
06:18How long are you expecting him to be out?
06:20I don't know yet.
06:22He's not had a lot of luck this season, has he?
06:24It's been pretty tough for him, how is he feeling?
06:26Yeah, he was stable, he was able to play a lot of games,
06:32but this season he's starting to... yeah, that's the way it is.
06:38Pep, can I ask you a bit more about Vitor?
06:42Because he's, like you said, very, very young, I think just over 20 games as a professional,
06:47but you and the club chose to bring him mid-season,
06:51how many minutes can you see him having?
06:55Is he ready to start for Manchester City, for example?
06:59Yeah, if he's here with us, of course he can start, we'll see.
07:03So the situation that we have in the back, I'm pretty sure they will have options soon.
07:09Maybe we'll need more time to adapt, but we are in some positions,
07:15all the seasons we struggle with emergencies,
07:18so it's come for many years, it's not come just for now.
07:23Of course for the young players coming, the situation that we have,
07:26mainly the results and injuries are not easy,
07:28it's always better when you come up and everything is going well.
07:31But it's what it is, and they will make us stronger,
07:33and I'm pretty sure that the club will decide this prospective player for the future for many years.
07:41If Kyle Walker does go, are you OK with the number of players you have as an option for that position?
07:48Yeah, it's what it is.