Football: I erred and I will adapt my style to the EPL, says Guardiola

Man City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted making mistakes since arriving at the club. PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON • Pep Guardiola has admitted making mistakes since arriving at Manchester City and that he has been forced to adapt his managerial style to suit the demands of English football.

The City manager's frank confession came in the wake of Friday's 5-0 demolition of West Ham in the FA Cup third round, a victory that should reinvigorate City's season following a patchy spell as they slipped to fourth in the English Premier League.

"I'm not going to change England and I don't want to do that," he said. "Of course, it's going to change me. That's why I came here - to be changed. That is nice. When I do all my career the same thing, 15 or 20 years as a coach, it's boring."

Guardiola said that some of his ideas were misplaced and, rather than blame his players, he should shoulder the responsibility for his side's performances.

"Sometimes I have an idea: Three at the back or play a player like this. And sometimes it didn't work and when that happens, it is always the manager and I never complain to the players," he said.

"You have to look at yourself and see what (you) have to do to help them play more fluently, not all the time with (aggression). That is my job. I have to help them."

He conceded that City need to recover the consistency when they were unbeaten in his first 11 games in charge at the Etihad, 10 of them victories.

Making the transition to the Premier League was challenging, Guardiola added: "I try to adapt to English football in the way I believe you can do that.

"But in the end, it's 11 against 11 and the pitches here are smaller - or looks like it more than the other places - and the intensity makes it a bit more difficult.

"So I understand that, I never complain and never complained in the past. We can do better to improve."

THE GUARDIAN

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 09, 2017, with the headline Football: I erred and I will adapt my style to the EPL, says Guardiola. Subscribe