Pep Guardiola says he blames himself for Manchester City's slump and has warned his side's victory over Leicester could prove to be a false dawn.
City's victory over Ruud van Nistelrooy's relegation battlers was only their second in 14 games, a run that leaves the Premier League champions in contention to reach the top four. Despite being in the grip of an injury crisis, Guardiola accepted blame in an expression of personal anguish to City hosts West Ham.
“I'm incredibly honest with myself about the reasons why we got here, and it's me,” Guardiola said. 'It's not the players' fault. I blame (myself). It's not to say, 'Oh, how nice is Pep?' It's the truth.
'I was leading that group of players and I couldn't lift them. This is the reality. There's something I'm missing, something I'm not doing right.
“When you lose a lot of games there is an incredible responsibility on the manager to feel something that the team needs for his confidence. And I couldn't do it.'
Guardiola is often self-critical, but was open to his mistakes. He suggested he had misinterpreted the dressing room at times and hinted that his behind-the-scenes messages were not inspiring a team that is 14 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Reinforcements would help as City hope to put pressure on the transfer market. Ederson at Atalanta, Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush and Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov are targets in key places on the pitch.
But Guardiola is wary of doing business in the notoriously difficult period of January and appears more concerned about finding a formula to halt the slide.
“We were the only undefeated team in Europe and at the top of the league (in October),” he added. 'We went straight down. For injuries, we discussed many things. But even with that,
I should have found a way to get better results.
'We have to recover our game because we were lucky in Leicester. Of course we had spirit, we ran and we had desire, but we have to play better.
'I have often said to the players that I know their level. We need that level and we didn't have it.
'How is the team compared to the last eight years? We're not there. I don't deny it. One result won't change my view of where the team is now. We won one match.
'But hopefully the results can help our faith and calmness. Sometimes you know you need a change to boost the team.'
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