While Premier League defending champions Manchester City sit 5th in the Premier League table as it stands, their manager extraordinaire Pep Guardiola has issued a warning to rivals that to write City off is to do so at their own peril.
City’s poor run of results by their own usually impeccable standards has cast some doubts on whether they can win a fourth consecutive Premier League title even as the treble winners return from a successful FIFA Club World Cup campaign with the hope it will kick-start their season.
The naysayers at City’s door are adding fuel to the champions’ zeal and fire and this could become an actual source of motivation for the world champions. It isn’t at all alien territory that Manchester City are now standing in as they have considerable experience overcoming sizable gaps in the Premier League table before in previous campaigns. The last season actually saw them decisively overhaul an 8-point gap to Arsenal to secure a third successive Premier League title. Such are the steely resolve and determination that Guardiola and his men can produce at will.
City are currently sitting 8 points behind current leaders Liverpool with two games in hand. As it stands, they still have 21 Premier League fixtures remaining so it is still too early in the season to pronounce gloom and doom on the defending champions.
Guardiola is certainly expecting the doubters to be banging on City’s main door as – after an era of unrivalled success – he knows there are fans and pundits expecting his side to plummet from their perch. Speaking with Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail before Manchester City’s Premier League clash with Everton he said: “The more you win, they want you to fail more than ever. I’ve felt that since day one in Barcelona, that people are waiting.”
The celebrated multi-award-winning Spaniard added that people doubting his side are merely adding fuel to City’s fire, adding: “They don’t understand anything about what we do but they give credit just because we win. You have to look further than that. In the moment you don’t win there are going to be doubts. That is OK. Doubt us again. We’ll see what happens.”
The motivation to win four consecutive Premier League titles is already beckoning to Manchester City. Pep and his magnificent men just can’t wait to prove the doubters wrong.