Feisty and obviously not in the mood to be messed with, Pep Guardiola has gone up a notch in his war of words with the Manchester City official supporters club general secretary, Kevin Parker, and insists he will walk away from the club if the fans are unhappy with him.
Guardiola upset Parker when he called for the Etihad Stadium to be filled for today’s clash against Southampton, after the attendance was 15,000 down on capacity for the recent Champions League victory over RB Leipzig.
Adamant in refusing to back down, despite Parker telling him to “stick to coaching”, the Spaniard says he was merely issuing a rallying cry ahead of the game with Southampton, who have had the benefit of enjoying a full week to prepare in advance.
“Why I am so upset and grumpy and disappointed is that this guy pretends to tell me what I have to say, what I have to do, and I know exactly what my intentions were,” Guardiola said. “But it’s the same. When people are not happy with me, I will leave, that’s for sure.
“After five years, people can’t understand my behavior with the fans is because they want to misunderstand what I say. I am not going to apologize for a second for what I said because I was honest.
“I am surprised about what happened with this man. What I said is that we would love this because we need the support with 10,000 people, 50,000 or 40,000 people. It doesn’t matter how many people come, but I invite them to come and enjoy another like the previous games where we have been able to score goals. We need their support.
“I never have the words to say, ‘Why didn’t you come?’ If you don’t come, don’t come. If you want to come, it would be a pleasure. Mr Parker should review the comments after the game, but I will not apologize to him.
Absolutely not.”
Pep Guardiola’s Etihad contract runs out in 2023.