"I will tell you the secret" - Manchester City's Pep Guardiola cheekily reveals why he's never been sacked
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola recently provided a pragmatic response when asked why he hasn't been sacked yet. He claimed that he is still in charge because his team wins matches. If it was the other way around, his tenure would already have come to an end.
Speaking ahead of the Cityzens' Premier League away clash against Southampton on April 8, Guardiola said (via Manchester Evening News):
"I will tell you the secret, we win games. If we don't win games I would be sacked. It's not because my hair is better than the other ones. I'm not sacked because we win a lot of games."
Guardiola took charge of Manchester City in 2016. He has been at the helm for 396 matches, winning 292 of those games. Hence, the Spaniard certainly knows how to get his team across the finish line.
The Cityzens have also established their dominance in English football in recent seasons. They have won the Premier League title in four out of the last five campaigns, winning the cup competitions multiple times as well.
He was further asked about how much time a manager should be given before they are shown the exit door. The Spaniard replied:
"I think that sporting director and owners make the decisions on managers when to sack him and how it works. In this country when I was younger it always had the tradition to keep the managers."
He added:
"What happens today with a lot of pressure for everyone, a lot of investment, in a way I understand there's a lot of pressure. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It is what it is, you have to adapt."
The Premier League has seen a record 12 managers being sacked so far this campaign.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the Premier League title race
Manchester City are trailing Arsenal by eight points in the Premier League title race, having played one game more than the Gunners.
Ahead of the clash against Southampton, Pep Guardiola claimed that City will lose the title if they drop further points. He said:
"If we drop points Arsenal will be champions in advance, if we win, win, win, we might be champions at the end of the season. We are used to it, it's not a problem," [focussing on a game a time.]"
Manchester City have 64 points from 28 matches in the Premier League this campaign.