Manchester City Coach Pep Guardiola has expressed concern about the club’s likely failure to qualify for the Champions League amidst a troubling slide in form.
Guardiola, speaking ahead of City’s Boxing Day match against Everton, emphasized the financial and sporting consequences of losing out on Europe’s top league.
“Financial is an issue, of course it is,” he said, “but it’s not just that. Now we’re at risk, of course we are, definitely. When I said before [this could happen], people laughed. It’s presumptuous: us winning the Premier League,” The Guardian UK quoted him as saying on Thursday.
He added, “They said ‘Ah, qualifying for the Champions League is not a big success.’ I know it can happen because it happens with clubs in this country. They were dominant for many years and, after many years, not qualifying for the Champions League.”
Currently in seventh in the Premier League standings, four points behind fourth-place Nottingham Forest, City has participated in the Champions League for 14 straight seasons.
Guardiola conceded that there is intense competition for European slots and that City’s present problems are a reflection of more serious problems.
“Man City is the only side that has participated in the Champions League for the last eleven or twelve years. If we are not eligible, it is because we are undeserving.
Since UEFA is giving extra spaces to leagues who perform well this season, City is also looking at fifth place as a possible lifeline for Champions League qualifying.
Guardiola, however, is still worried about their current position and emphasizes the urgent need for change.
