Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that his players are using last season's disappointments as motivation for their current nine-game unbeaten run. The team finished third in the Premier League without a trophy last term, their worst campaign since Guardiola's first season in charge.
Speaking ahead of Sunday's visit to Aston Villa, Guardiola said: 'The players came to me a month ago and said: Pep, we don't want to live the season like we lived last season. They are the first. They want to perform properly. They have pride.'
Guardiola admitted the squad felt 'empty and drained' last season due to past success, injuries, and other factors. He added: 'When you realise that life cannot always be perfect, and what you have to do to get better, we'll be a good team. We are not consistent for 95 minutes yet but in the bad moments we are quite stable.'
Erling Haaland has been instrumental in City's resurgence, scoring in his last 12 appearances for club and country. The Norwegian has 11 Premier League goals this season and has played the most minutes of any City player. Despite his injury history, Guardiola has no plans to rest him.
'I'm so sorry for my colleague Ståle Solbakken from the national team of Norway but I'm not thinking about that,' Guardiola said. 'Maybe at the end when we win the Premier League 10 points in front and 10 fixtures from the end he'll take a rest. Now he feels fit, he feels fine.'
