Phil Foden insists Manchester City players still believe in Pep Guardiola despite a dismal defeat to Manchester United that continued their dismal run.
Guardiola’s side have lost eight of their last 11 games heading into Sunday’s Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.
Poor defending has become a common feature of their shocking decline, with City conceding twice in the final minutes of the game as United dealt another blow to their hopes of a fifth straight Premier League title.
Fifth-placed City are nine points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game remaining and have suffered five league defeats this season, compared with just three in the entire top flight last season.
Guardiola said afterwards that he was “not good enough” as the worst crisis of his managerial career deepened.
But Manchester City striker Foden is convinced the Spaniard, who recently signed a new two-year contract, will retain the support of his struggling side.
Read more | Manchester City say a fan died during derby match against Manchester United
“We’re still far from where we are, but I still believe we’re playing well enough to get points and results,” he said. “We need to stay focused throughout the 90 minutes but we’ll lose focus in the big moments. We just need to get the focus right.
“After our past achievements, we came together, regrouped and believed in ourselves.
“We’ve always believed in the process and the head coach – I believe if we do that, we’ll get back to winning ways and get back to the level we’re at.”
Manchester City are desperate to find a winning formula ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa.
Foden admitted he was bewildered by City’s fall from grace and the damage to team morale was clearly visible in the dressing room after the derby defeat.
“I can’t put my finger on what happened,” Foden said.
“I thought the performance was good enough to get the result but we didn’t score in the end and it seems to be the same situation at the moment. We just have to stick together.
“There’s obviously going to be frustration and sadness in the dressing room now, but we can’t dwell too much on it.”
After facing Villa, Guardiola’s side will host Everton on December 26 before visiting Leicester City in their final game of 2024.
With a busy festive period ahead, Foden has urged team-mates to stick together. “It’s about staying strong throughout the 90 minutes but we’re not doing that yet.”
“We have to start again and show our character to recover from this crisis,” he added. “This is not a time to complain, but a time to come together, stay strong and move forward again. I’m sure we Will be back.”
