Pep Guardiola said the relentless nature of the football calendar does not leave any time for managers or players to enjoy their jobs. The Manchester City boss is again in the heat of a Premier League title battle with Liverpool, facing a difficult trip to West Ham just four days after his team brilliantly blitzed Wolves to keep a three-point gap at the top with two games left.
Guardiola this week re-opened the question of whether he will stay beyond the end of his City contract next summer, by suggesting he would not even discuss his future with the club until the end of next season. That led to speculation that he may be ready to walk away from the Etihad Stadium, as his last two contract extensions have been sorted in plenty of time.
Guardiola stepped away from his first senior post as Barcelona boss in 2012 after becoming exhausted by the internal politics that haunt the Nou Camp, and he was also wearied by the constant fight with Bayern Munich legends after three seasons in Germany.
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He has always said that his relationship with the City hierarchy is exceptional and has claimed more than once that he would stay for the long term if it was entirely down to him, But his latest comments suggest that he is finding it increasingly tough to live with the endless round of fixtures, and he says that the problem is only going to get worse.
“In some periods, I’d love to have more time to enjoy it but here every three days there’s a game, there are more games, more competitions but still 365 days,” he said when asked if he ever gets chance to sit back and actually enjoy the brilliant moments with which his team keep providing him.
“My feeling is it will be worse before better. You don’t have time to enjoy the victory at Wolves, or train better, training, watch videos, we don’t have time to do anything.
“We’ve not had one proper training session since Madrid and it’s getting more like that. You have to be more of a friend of the players - no training - and it’s getting worse. But now we finish the season, players have four games with the national team, then have a month of holiday and then back, it’s too much.
“People talk about the money and it’s true but it’s what it is, it’s getting worse and seems there is no chance of changing.”
Asked what he would like to be his City legacy, Guardiola added: "We have fun, I had the best of everything, we have been something in our lives and we have fun.
“In football it’s nice when you do both, people who like to be with us, City fans say it was fun, we played good, that’s the biggest legacy, the emotion, those are the best rewards for sure.”
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