Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday his players do not lack motivation despite competing on multiple fronts this season and are more determined than ever to go to Wembley Stadium and lift the FA Cup.
City have a one-point lead over Liverpool in the Premier League and take on Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League next month after a meeting with Southampton in the last-eight of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Asked if he found it difficult to motivate his players for the Southampton clash due to their involvement in other major competitions, Guardiola said he respected the FA Cup and was determined to go all the way.
“How do you ask me this when in these six years we play every game like it was the last game of our lives?” the Spanish coach told reporters.
“I know how difficult it will be away at Southampton. I’m sorry, I trust a lot my team, my players. I know it looks like everything is gone but I trust a lot my players to arrive in every competition and be who we are.
“… I want to do it with these players, I wouldn’t change one single player for the next two months.”
City will face Liverpool in the league on April 10, with the Merseyside club guaranteed to be champions if they win all their remaining fixtures.
But Guardiola, who lifted the FA Cup only once in 2018-19, said City’s immediate focus was on Southampton.
“In the Premier League we’re winning. Right now, our destiny is in our hands,” Guardiola added. “We’re closer in the FA Cup, I don’t count the competitions. I know how difficult it will be at Southampton.”
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