Man.City are in the right frame of mind, says boss Guardiola

Pep Guardiola says he is satisfied with the state of mind of his Manchester City players even though they twice lost the lead to draw 2-2 with Newcastle and slip further behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Guardiola, whose defending champions are 11 points adrift of Jurgen Klopp’s team with more than a third of the season gone, is adamant the City players have not been affected by a poor run of just one victory in five games in all competitions.

“You have to see how the players run and how they fight and how they try to do it, the body language -- we never give up, so the team is always there, that’s my feeling,” he said.

“The game is what it is. In my opinion, it was good. We played well with the ball, we were solid, we conceded few counter-attacks, but football is how many goals you score and how you don’t concede.

“You accept that. Sometimes it happens.”

City have the Manchester derby on Saturday but Guardiola is focused on Tuesday’s away trip to Burnley beforehand.

“I’m not thinking about how many games we have to win,” he said. “It’s just try to win the next one.

“Last season when we were here, we were not talking about the Premier League, how many games you have to win.

“It’s not about that. It’s just now recover, prepare and try to win against Burnley, that is what you have to do, and after that the derby and make these steps.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s interim manager Freddie Ljungberg said Arsenal can still finish in the Premier League top four despite a 2-2 draw at Norwich City on Sunday that extended the club’s winless streak in the league to six games.

Former Gunners’ midfielder Ljungberg was in charge for the first time after Unai Emery’s sacking on Friday and watched skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang twice level for his side.

 “100 per cent,” the Swede said when asked if Arsenal could still mount a top-four challenge. “People drop points here and there and we drop points, it’s a crazy league at the moment. I hope and think Arsenal can finish in the top four.”

Ljungberg said ideally he would have “five or six weeks” to get his ideas across to the players but with a home match against Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday before a trip to West Ham United the following Monday he does not have that luxury.

Agence France-Presse