Manchester City expert Steven McInerney speaks to Sports Mole about what Pep Guardiola ‘hates with a passion’ and what the club’s main priority is during the international break.
November’s international break has arguably come at a suitable time for an injury-hit Manchester City side, who are reeling after losing four games in a row across all competitions for the first time under manager Pep Guardiola.
More than 11 first-team players at Man City have been sidelined with some form of injury so far this season, and several of those were absent or not deemed fit to feature in the Citizens’ 2-1 defeat at Brighton in the Premier League last weekend.
While Rodri and Oscar Bobb remain long-term absentees, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Matheus Nunes, Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne have either withdrawn or been left out of the squads of their respective countries due to injury or fitness issues.
A total of 13 Citizens players have been called up to represent their country this month, though, including England duo Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis, Brazil pair Ederson and Savinho, and Croatia duo Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic.
Man City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany feels that Guardiola has made it crystal clear that he will not accept players returning from international duty injured, and while the Citizens boss will never discourage players from representing their country, his priority at present is to see them all return to the Etihad unscathed.
McInerney: ‘Man City’s priority is to get everyone home and fit’
Asked what Man City fans can hope for during the international break, McInerney told Sports Mole: “Nothing, genuinely nothing. My expectations are so, so low. I’d be lying if I thought about anything other than City players returning fit and healthy.
“We’re at the stage of the season now where these games don’t really matter. They’re not the highest profile international matches. I just want the players to return without injuries.
“There was a little bit of noise around Jack Grealish and there was a very veiled press conference from Guardiola implying that anyone who hasn’t been training should not be playing football – and it felt very much directed at Jack Grealish.
“Thankfully he’s got the memo. It took him a little bit of time, but he’s got it and he’s returned back to Manchester to rest up a little bit.
“[The priority for Man City] has to be just to get everyone home, get everyone fit. It’d be nice if anyone plays well and gets a little bit of momentum, because you can always take that into domestic football. City aren’t in a good place right now, so anyone who comes back confident and a little bit fresh would be good.
“Guardiola has been very, very assertive on [players not getting injured]. Anyone who’s not fit should not be playing and they cannot come back injured. He hates it. He hates international injuries with a passion.
“I get it, especially if the players aren’t fit. He’s never going to stop players going (on international duty), but if they’ve not been training, don’t you dare play and get injured because it’s just not acceptable at all.”
“Massive blow” if Haaland, Bernardo, Kovacic pick up injuries
Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland are two key Man City players away on international duty with Portugal and Norway respectively, and McInerney believed that it would be “a massive blow” if either of the “pivotal” duo, as well as Kovacic, were to pick up an injury while representing their country.
“It’d be a massive blow. All I’m thinking is ‘just please be okay’. I don’t want Haaland to play. Honestly, I just don’t want him to play. I want him to sit on the bench, do nothing,” said McInerney.
On a positive note, McInerney has named a few players who could benefit from the international break – some of whom will look to build on the form they showed in Man City’s last few matches, while others will hope to impress Guardiola as they bid to earn more game time in the senior side.
“Gvardiol will be going away with Croatia and Kovacic as well. Kovacic is in good form [but] he’s the exact kind of person we don’t want to get injured,” McInerney added.
“[Stefan] Ortega [has earned] his first call up (for Germany). He deserves that… Rico Lewis will be with the England squad as well, so a little bit of game time for him – not that he needs it if I’m being honest – but it’s always good that he’s where he belongs in my personal opinion, away with England.”
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‘McAtee will get the minutes he deserves on international duty’
On academy graduate James McAtee, who have been called up to represent England Under-21s, McInerney said: “For the younger players, they need [game time] more than the senior players, because they haven’t had as much.
“McAtee in particular hasn’t played anywhere near as much as we’d hoped this season. [The international break is] an opportunity to get some football. He had a good international break last time, scoring a couple of goals.
“Hopefully he takes [advantage of] it again and finds his confidence a little bit, and takes it into the (City) squad, because I do think there will be a chance for him at some point – I hope so anyway.
“He’s going to need to be ready, and these little breaks can be a nice little reset mentally for him, and give him the minutes that he deserves, given he’s not really been getting much football currently.
“He’s sort of too good for City’s EDS (Elite Development Squad) and for the Under-21s, which means he gets no football there other than training, so these England Under-21 games probably mean quite a lot to him personally, because it’s a chance to actually stretch his legs in a game that matters. Fingers crossed he takes that form back to City.”
Guardiola will be hoping that all of his first-team players on international duty will return injury-free ahead of Man City’s next Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on November 23.
