Gary Neville branded Manchester City 'difficult to watch' 11 months ago and said he was 'bored' watching Pep Guardiola's side.
Well, he'll have no choice on Saturday night when Salford City – the club he co-owns with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and other members of Manchester United's Class of 92 – come to the Etihad to try and to knock. Guardiola and his FA Cup stars.
Despite his joke, Guardiola was in no mood to settle old scores on a cold afternoon in Manchester on Friday. Instead, he suggested that the job Neville holds as an expert is one he could never take on himself.
“I don't think I'll do that,” said the City boss, who is looking to win his third FA Cup. “I am careful or concerned not to make any comment that could offend my colleagues.
'I know how difficult our work is. I don't want to pretend that I'm sitting there and I know what happened. It's so unpredictable and a lot of things happen.
'If I hurt someone, it's always childbirth, if I don't want it. It's to defend my club.
'I've always felt how difficult it is. I used to be a footballer and now a manager. Our affairs are so complicated. It's unpredictable, so difficult. I don't want to hurt my colleagues.
“Maybe (becoming an expert) will happen in the future, but honestly, I don't think so.”
So Guardiola has no problem with players like Neville, who rarely bite their tongue, especially this season when City are struggling so much.
“It's a job they do, it's normal,” Guardiola added. “If it's boring, if they say obvious things, people won't pay attention. But normally I completely agree with what they say. I'm not kidding. I completely agree with what the experts say about the games.
'For me it's not a big problem. Managers get paid for many reasons. One of them is accepting what people say, both in good and bad moments.'
Guardiola also has no interest in following in Marcel's footsteps as club owner.
'No. “I'm not good at that,” he said. “I'm a good manager sometimes, but I'm not good as a businessman, so I'm absolutely not interested in that.”
Guardiola is expected to name a much-changed City side tonight, but Ruben Dias and John Stones remain unavailable.
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