If Manchester City loses to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, their chances of winning the quadruple could be over.
Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City players to put their potential trophy haul when they travel to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup behind them.
He is not planning on adding another trophy to last season’s treble.
Phil Foden and other City players have made it clear that the team wants to win all four trophies up for grabs this season, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup to go along with their UEFA Super Cup.
Guardiola insisted that considering a quadruple this early in the season would not be advantageous.
The manager has stated that he will have to rotate his starting XI at St James’ Park rather than go strong from the start due to the injuries to three players and the suspension of Rodri.
In light of this, Guardiola advised his players against planning too far ahead and dissuaded them from considering a quadruple so early in the season.
He added, “Phil is so young, you understand with time.”.
“It’s nice to have ambition, but I tell the players that the ambition has to be the next game.
If you’re still competing, you can consider it in May, but thinking about it now, in late September, might be a mistake.”.
Further, Guardiola stated that the difficulty in maintaining standards was not necessarily a mental one, but rather more related to scheduling issues as a result of an increase in competitions.
“You can’t practice.
Our population is small. We are used to it,” he said.
“Previous seasons were the same.
Due to the Club World Cup, we still have two games left, but everything else remains the same.
“The players all want to compete for titles, so I don’t believe the issue is psychological in nature.
Insufficient sleep is the issue, especially in terms of the mind. The problem is not that seasons include a few weeks off.
The players, however, are content to compete for titles while playing and winning games. The issue is the prolonged lack of sleep.
This is how it is with more teams participating in the Champions League.
Gripe briefly here, then put it behind you.”.
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