Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola: Why I've struggled adapting to English football so far

Posted Sunday, January 08, 2017 by Express.co.uk

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola: Why I've struggled adapting to English football so far
Pep Guardiola admits he is still learning English football

PEP GUARDIOLA came here hailed as the best coach in the world. But last night he revealed how he has struggled to come to terms with the brute force of English football.

The man who led Barcelona and Bayern Munich to glory admitted that managing Manchester City has been a whole different ball game for him.

And sometimes, he confessed: I have got it wrong.

Pep Guardiola's frank self criticism came despite his city slickers putting on a five star show to knock West Ham out of the FA Cup on Friday night.

He said the aggression of teams in the Premier League had taken him by surprise and some subsequent tactical mistakes he made had affected his players' confidence.

Guardiola highlighted defensive mistakes against Spurs at White Hart Land and against Celtic in the Champions League as the start of his problems.

He said: "At times my ideas were not good, because I'm still in the process to know the players and what is the best way to play."

Guardiola claimed that the type of passing game play he started with - and will always prefer - had occasionally stuttered because of opponents' aggression and long ball style.

"It has not been easy to do that because our opponents are so aggressive. And when the ball is up and down any team is better than us - much much better.

"Sometimes I have an idea - three at the back or play a player like this - and sometimes it didn't work. When that happens it is always the manager and I never complain to the players.

"I see how they suffer and I have to look at myself and help them find each other and play to each other more fluently, not all the time with an aggressivity and all these kind of things. That is my job. I have to help them. It is my responsibility."

Guardiola said he was desperately trying to adapt to English football, but claimed that smaller pitches, aggressive rivals, and lenient referees is making it difficult for him.

But he added: "I'm not going to change England and I don1t want to do that. Of course, it1s going to change me. That1s why I came here - to be changed. That is nice."

But he vowed that he will not change his basic philosophy, whatever happens.

"At Barcelona it was more like a Brazilian counter attack, taking the ball and running, and we controlled games through the passes," he added.

"We have to try (to do that with City). It's not always possible because the opponents are playing so aggressive, but that is what I think we have to try to do, through the passes, through the multi, multi, multi passes."