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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Simon Bajkowski

Pep Guardiola set for familiar role in latest Man City drama

For all the transformational change Monday's bombshell news could have on Manchester City, very little should have changed for Pep Guardiola.

The prospect of the Blues being expelled from the Premier League drew fresh questions over the manager's future, yet if he was not jumping for joy in pictures from Tuesday's training session that may well have been down to the ongoing battle to spark some life into the squad that have won the last two titles. Away from the boardroom drama, the coach has bigger priorities for now.

Guardiola has been in this very entrenched position before, and has given a full defence of the club because he believes what he has been shown and told by his bosses. As he said in relation to the UEFA verdict that was overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport: "I said to them 'if you lie to me, the day after I am not here'."

Also read: Man City fight with Premier League will cause 'untenable' result

That faith was justified at the time and there is unlikely to be a raft of evidence that wasn't made known to Guardiola at the time that is particularly pertinent now given the similar nature of the charges. It will take an unfavourable commission verdict - which may not even be done by the time the manager's contract is up in 2025 - for him to feel like he has been lied to.

The other point is that Guardiola has known about what people say about City for much longer. The allegations about their finances were spoken freely around Munich when he managed Bayern, so somebody else saying it - albeit somebody as important in the game as the Premier League - won't materially change minds because he has already been working with the impression that their achievements have not been fully recognised by all.

Already, reaction online has been split into two camps: those who never fully accepted the CAS verdict assume City guilt now, and those that did accept it know it is better to wait than to assume - certainly with so limited information on the charges available and given financial regulations is not a topic many would choose on Mastermind.

Guardiola is in the latter camp, although he cannot wait for an opinion when he is likely to be grilled on the matter for months in press conferences. Not because he is a specialist in it but because he is pretty much the only club representative put up to face the media, the manager will have to take questions both on his involvement in serious Premier League allegations but also the more wider activity and implications for the club.

The worry for some City fans is not that Guardiola will walk out this week, but that he may tire of the constant cloud that the Blues are held under. These allegations are hugely damning of the club if proven, although 'if' is doing a hell of a lot of work in that phrase and in the not-inconsequential time before we find that answer out most will assume that they are guilty until proven innocent (or not guilty).

Guardiola, though, has shown before he is willing to walk through a storm to remain loyal to his friends, as well as defend his own legacy. The manager has strayed from the club line on numerous occasions before to say what he thinks, yet it is unlikely there will be any split this time.

More importantly for City, he still looks up for the fight of the day job that will soon capture everyone's attention again - trying to keep the life in a Premier League title race. Given the inconsistent performances since the World Cup, you suspect that will take up far more of his time than the alleged charges against the club.

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