Pep Guardiola said that buying new players will not be the key to cutting out the weaknesses which have cost his team the Premier League this season.
The Manchester City boss saw his side slip to their ninth defeat of the campaign, losing 1-0 at Southampton.
And he admitted that the way the game went – dominance of the ball, chances created and not taken, and then losing due to an individual error – was a microcosm of the whole league season.
City will enter the transfer market this summer, with a centre back top of their list, and possibly a midfielder, but Guardiola insists that any players they buy are simply to replace departures.
And he claims that any changes do not represent disappointment with the performances of his team this season – they are still fighting for the FA Cup and Champions League and have played extremely well for most of the game.
Asked if he needed to buy in order to improve next season, Guardiola said: “No, I don't think so. I think we played good, honestly.
“The character, the desire to try until the end. We had ten Southampton players on the penalty spot and we did really well.
“It is difficult to create more chances than the way we did it. I like the way we play, but it is not enough. It is not a complaint of the players, we played really well but it is not enough to win the games.”
He reduced the need for improvement to simple details, when asked, saying: “Next season will be next season - try to score more goals and avoid few chances that we have.
“It is simple. The control is there, the way we play is there so try to increase ...”
