Pep Guardiola has stated that he will not change his man-management style in response to Roy Keane’s criticism of his on-the-field discussion with Erling Haaland at the end of the Manchester derby.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was caught on camera having an animated conversation with the Norwegian striker, who scored twice in the win at Old Trafford. “It’s all for show,” said Keane on Sky Sports. “You can have that conversation in the locker room.” “What exactly is the big deal?”
Guardiola, whose team plays Bournemouth on Saturday, frequently employs this tactic to provide insight to players in the immediate aftermath of a match and make his points about where they can improve while incidents are still fresh in their minds. Guardiola believed Haaland could have scored three goals at Old Trafford if he had put more power into a header that was saved by André Onana.
“I have a lot of respect for Roy Keane,” Guardiola said. “I can avoid it [chatting with players on the field].” Perhaps Roy is correct, but it does happen. I don’t need to do anything for the people at my age. I go inside occasionally and say hello to the referees. It’s how I feel right now.”
Haaland came second in the Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi this week. He had a month off when the World Cup took place last November and December, keeping him fresher than most of his colleagues for the end of the campaign. The Norwegian has made 18 appearances for club and country this season, scoring 16 goals, but has no such scheduled break.
“He feels really fit now,” said Guardiola. “He has niggles now and then, especially in the abductor when he came from Dortmund.” He now feels completely free of problems. I saw him training today with incredible vigour. I don’t think about March, April, or May; we try to win games so that we can be contenders in March, April, and May for the competitions in which we compete.”
“We’ll see. If he falls and becomes tired, he rests. I believe he is feeling better now. Having him on the field gives us confidence and presents an incredible threat to our opponents. He is incredible, a wonderful player who is very special to us.
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