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Guardiola: Barca or Bayern would have sacked me

Spaniard says his Man City record would not have been tolerated at former clubs

Pep Guardiola claims his first season at Manchester City would have ended with the sack at former clubs Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

The City boss accepts he has fallen below expectations since arriving at the Etihad Stadium last summer and must improve next term.

City failed to mount a sustained Premier League title challenge and saw their Champions League campaign end at the last-16 stage.

Having won 21 trophies across his spells at the Nou Camp and Allianz Arena, such a return is a relative disappointment and Guardiola believes his old employers would even have shown him the door.

Ahead of this morning's clash with West Brom, he said: "(The) pressure I had when I arrived in Barcelona, when I had nothing to defend (myself with) - at that club, if in six months you don't win, you are really out.

"Like Barcelona or Bayern Munich, there you have to win by far. If not, they don't give you a second chance.

"Here they gave me a second chance and we will try to do it. In my situation at a big club - I'm sacked, I'm out. Sure. Definitely.

"We have a second chance and we will try to do it better than this season."

WIELD THE AXE

Having invested so much effort in recruiting Guardiola - they first approached him in 2012 before finally landing their man last year - City are unlikely to wield the axe soon.

But the 46-year-old Spaniard feels his past successes, which include two Champions League wins with Barca, can protect him only so far.

He said: "If next season is not going well, I'll have one more year of contract and, if it's not going well, they are going to change manager.

"I am not staying here because I am Pep or what I have done a long time ago."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has claimed "some teams are on holiday" and expressed hope all opponents for all teams fight hard.

But Guardiola, whose side finish their campaign at Watford on Sunday, said: "I don't understand how the managers speak for the other clubs.

"The people who are hired are focused on their teams - they do what they have to do.

"I never saw one player in my life go to the pitch and not try to win the game."

"He (Wenger) plays against Everton and Sunderland, no? Both teams are done, no? One is relegated and one is in the Europa League, so it's the same situation.

"So you don't want to complain. Do it better during the season and you will not have this problem."

Meanwhile, Man City and Manchester United will face off in a friendly in Houston, Texas, in July in the first Manchester Derby on foreign soil, the two clubs announced yesterday.

The two clubs will meet at Houston's NRG Stadium on July 20 as part of the International Champions Cup friendly tournament.

They had been due to play each other in Beijing, China, last year, but the game was called off due to concerns about the pitch.

United last played in Houston in 2010, when they beat a Major League Soccer All-Stars team 5-2.

United's pre-season tour of the US also features games against the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

City will play Real Madrid in Los Angeles and tackle Tottenham Hotspur in Nashville. - WIRE SERVICES

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