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6 months ago
35 Pep Guardiola has warned his Man City players not to take success ‘for granted’ before the FA Cup final against rivals Manchester United.
A win for the Blues would seal the league Double after completing the Treble last term.
City are seeking their 18th trophy of Guardiola’s eight-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium. United have won just three pieces of silverware in that period.
“Many good teams thought in the past that it [winning] is taken for granted and look now, it’s difficult,” Guardiola said, as quoted by The Guardian. “Always I say to the players to look at what they have done; always arriving in the finals is difficult. I don’t change my mind.
“It’s so difficult to win [in previous rounds] at Spurs away, against Newcastle at home, Luton when they were in their good moment. To arrive here is difficult – I don’t take it for granted. This is the reason why. We respect the opponents a lot, know we can easily lose every game and at the same time we can win it. I’ve never had the feeling that it doesn’t matter, absolutely not. The finals, when you arrive, is: ‘Wow, what a privilege to be here again.’ People think: ‘Ah, it’s City, it’s what they have done for the last decade.’”
Guardiola added: “In big clubs like United, City, when you don’t win always you are in trouble.
“I would be in trouble if we didn’t win. He [Ten Hag] has done many good things. I have huge respect for his job in the past and now at United I completely agree when I listen to him when he says they have not had a full squad this season and had a lot of injuries.”
Meanwhile, at Old Trafford, we are dealing with non-stop speculation over managerial candidates amid uncertainty over Ten Hag’s job.
It is not how you want to prepare for the cup final – so, with a bit of hope, maybe City will become complacent. I know I won’t complain if they do.
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