Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is not pushing the panic button despite his team’s recent poor form.
City take on Tottenham at the Etihad stadium on Thursday looking for a win to cut the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to five points.
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Saturday’s 2-1 derby loss at Manchester United, which followed their defeat against Southampton in the Carabao Cup, left Guardiola’s side eight points behind the Gunners.
“We have been in this position many times in the past, many, many times,” Guardiola said in Wednesday’s news conference. “I’m never relaxed even when we are eight points ahead.
“The pressure is the next game. We have to win the next game.”
City have not lost three competitive games since April 2018. They have won one and lost four of their previous five Premier League games against Tottenham.
“The only important thing is the next game,” Guardiola said. “You can drop points when you are ahead but when you are behind, you can’t afford to lose points.”