Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledges that his players are deeply affected by their unprecedented five-match losing streak but remains confident in their ability to recover.
The 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham was particularly devastating, coming just days after Guardiola signed a new two-year contract with the club.
This marked City’s heaviest home loss since 2003 and their first five-game losing streak since 2006, predating Sheikh Mansour’s transformative ownership era.
For Guardiola, it is also the first time in his managerial career that he has experienced five consecutive defeats.
The result leaves City eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who secured a 3-2 victory against Southampton on Sunday.
“I trust these players more than ever,” said Guardiola.
“I’ve never seen a player in my life who wants to perform badly or make a bad performance to the fans or for the club. Nobody wants it.
“When they are in front of 60,000 people they want to perform well. But for many reasons, it hurts.”
Guardiola has vowed to find a solution to City’s problems but with a crucial trip to Liverpool next weekend following Tuesday’s Champions League encounter with Dutch side Feyenoord, it is not clear how he will achieve it.
The twin absences of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic mean City’s injury-hit defence has been exposed to too many attacks.
On Saturday, Tottenham arrived with a gameplan to get the ball wide to Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski as quickly as possible in an effort to isolate City’s full-backs and put the central positions under strain.
Kulusevski said he was looking forward to the challenge more than any other game this season and the outcome represented “the best result ever in my career”.
For City, the experience was more depressing.
“At the moment we are not solid enough, that is the truth,” added Guardiola.
“I will not say a word that my time is not good but I have been there as a football player. They are not, ‘hey it doesn’t matter’. You want to do well but you have doubts.”
Guardiola finds solace in his belief that Manchester City have performed well for significant stretches during their recent matches.
Reflecting on the Tottenham defeat, he suggested the result might have been very different if Erling Haaland had converted one of his two early opportunities.
Guardiola will also be optimistic about John Stones’ fitness improving after playing just 45 minutes at the weekend, along with the potential return of Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake to strengthen central defense. Their presence could boost the confidence of Kyle Walker and Josko Gvardiol, who had disappointing performances against Spurs.
Given Guardiola’s relentless drive and high standards, his positive outlook on the team’s overall situation is likely more than just a formality.
“When we started to lose, I said to people, ‘we have to find a way’,” he said. “That is my duty.
“Sometimes you don’t have it for many reasons, so which players at our disposal are better than the other ones? Lets’ go to try and do it with them.”