Pep Guardiola says the mood around Manchester City is “better” but he is still not convinced the defending Premier League champions have got their mojo back.
City have won their last three games, two in the league and Saturday’s 8-0 win over neighbors Salford City in the FA Cup, after overcoming a dismal run in which they managed just one win in 13.
They travel to Brentford tomorrow night and Guardiola believes the clash at the Gtech Community Stadium will be a good barometer of the team’s progress.
He said: “We won three games. Before, it was impossible to win one.
“Now we have won three and that helps us. But the reality is that we won in the last game against a team that we should win for many reasons – the difference between the Premier League and League Two.
“We did quite well but we still have to wait and see if we are who we are, but the mood is better.
PEP 💬 Of course we won three games. It used to be impossible to win one and now we’ve won three. This helps us… The mood is better. We have an extremely difficult game (against Brentford). Thomas (Frank) and his team always cause a lot of problems. They are fantastic,… pic.twitter.com/Uc02SWKDgx
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 13, 2025
“Tomorrow we have an extremely difficult game. What has happened in recent seasons is always a team that causes a lot of problems. You have been together with Thomas (Frank) for a very long time.
“They are a fantastic team, but at the same time we know what we are playing for.”
No update on Walker
The weekend’s triumph was overshadowed by the news that Kyle Walker had asked to leave City to pursue his career abroad.
The two Milan clubs are reportedly leading the race for the England right-back, but Guardiola today refused to comment on Walker’s future, adding: “No, no news. I will decide this afternoon after training whether he will be in the squad against Brentford.
“I won’t add anything more. I don’t have any news. I’m thinking Brentford.”
Injuries have led to a rethinking of the transfer, says Pep
City have reportedly agreed a transfer fee with Lens for defender Abdukodir Khusanov, while Palmeiras’ teenage centre-back Vitor Reis and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush are also in their sights.
Guardiola was not interested in discussing transfer matters but admitted injuries could force them onto the market.
“That’s what I want (players returning from injury),” he said. “If it had happened we wouldn’t have gone to the transfer window this season, absolutely not. And we wouldn’t be in the position we’re in. But we had problems all season long.
“We had and still have a lot of problems, especially in the back four, and that is the reason why the club is thinking about what we will do in this transfer window or maybe in the summer.”
“From the start of the season it was back and center. We’re more or less OK at the front, but at the back we’ve had big problems all season.”
