Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (L) speaks to (from L) Manchester City's Belgian midfielder #17 Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City's English midfielder #87 James McAtee and Manchester City's English defender #66 Jahmai Simpson-Pusey during the UEFA Champions League football match between Manchester City and Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on November 26, 2024. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP) (Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola with Manchester City substitutes against Feyenoord
Pep Guardiola was calm and composed as he took his seat to take questions after another defeat on Saturday.
The Manchester City coach took more questions than he had to and sought to offer context for both the individual result against Aston Villa and wider issues that have resulted in the worst run of results in his career. There was no excuses looked for, but a defence offered of the efforts that are being made to change things.
Guardiola remains correct to say that things will improve when he gets his players back - what team wouldn't improve when some of their best stars returned - but the Villa defeat painted the worrying reality that there is no timeframe for that. As John Stones came back in and then out of the team in the space of 45 minutes, the vicious cycle City have got themselves into means that two months since their injury crisis first hit it shows no sign of ending.
City will undoubtedly improve when Guardiola gets his players back, but what if he doesn't? Or what happens if it takes months rather than weeks and the Blues continue to freefall down the Premier League and out of the Champions League?
Asked that very question in the Villa Park press room, the City boss said that they would play with whatever they had. After suggesting he would play youngster Jahmai Simpson-Pusey if there were no fit centre-backs, he then went on to praise Bernardo Silva and Rico Lewis for playing every minute without rest.
It is the second rather than the first suggestion that has been Guardiola's preferred route so far. While Simpson-Pusey started against Sporting and Brighton towards the beginning of the losing run, he hasn't since and John Stones and Manu Akanji were both rushed straight back into the starting XI at the weekend instead.
Silva has run himself into the ground and doesn't some of the flak he is picking up, yet it was striking on Saturday how little verve there was in the team after a week off. They nearly conceded twice inside the opening minute and there was no assault on Emi Martinez's goal when 1-0 or 2-0 down.
Guardiola said on Friday that it was 'maybe unfair' that he hadn't turned more to James McAtee or some of the other promising players at the club who aren't weighed down by trying to defend past achievements, and with each passing defeat it looks more questionable. Even if the manager still trusts his senior players more, when they are as knackered as they look, low on confidence and out of form, there is little to be gained by playing them again and again and again while hoping that an injury situation that hasn't improved in two months will suddenly take a turn.
City fans have not had much to cheer about in too long, and Guardiola made sure all of the players went over to applaud the supporters after they lost on Saturday. Those spending their Boxing Day at the Etihad for a 12.30pm kick-off against Everton deserve to see players hungry to make an impression, and however much is down to tiredness the hunger that drove City to its enormous successes is nowhere to be seen in the current side.