Pep Guardiola accepts fixture congestion is sign of success for Manchester City
By Andy Hampson, Press Association
Pep Guardiola delivered a thinly-veiled dig at the Premier League over Manchester City’s packed fixture schedule – but admitted congestion is the price of chasing success.
City’s hopes of beating Arsenal to the title will be decided over their final three games, with the FA Cup final against Chelsea also squeezed into a demanding 12-day spell.
Guardiola’s side host Crystal Palace on Wednesday before heading to Wembley to face Chelsea, and then wrapping up their league campaign against Bournemouth and Aston Villa.
The scheduling of the rearranged Palace and Bournemouth fixtures has been a source of frustration at City and Guardiola’s sarcasm appeared to offer an insight into his feelings.
He said: “We don’t think about the ‘generosity’ of the Premier League. As always they have been really nice for this schedule!
“But it is what it is. We accept. I always said, if you don’t play the final of the FA Cup, you will not have this schedule. So we are in the final, you have this schedule.
“And I would love to have the schedule (of being) in the Champions League semi-final in the middle of the title race.
“When we won the treble or quadruple we were there in that dynamic. So it’s really nice.”
City trail Arsenal by five points with three games to play to the Gunners’ two.
The title has been their main aim but they could still end the season with a cup double and Guardiola insists he will always take all competitions seriously.
He said: “The competitions, knockout stages, it’s like life or death – it’s nice. It’s like now at the end of the (league) season.
“I’ve tried with my staff since I arrived 10 years ago, to make this club, (from) when you play the first game in the pre-season, in Asia or America or wherever, think we have to win.
“We have to try to win, not choose competitions, games, anything. We have to, all of us, inoculate in our bodies that we have to do our best every game for respect of our people, respect for the job.
“All of us are incredibly well paid – we have to do it.”
