Manchester City are preparing to face West Ham in the final day of the Premier League season, knowing victory will seal the title.
Pep Guardiola plans to show his Manchester City players ‘how good they are’ ahead of their Premier League finale versus West Ham.
Guardiola has urged his squad to approach the game as they would any other, praising City players for their lack of celebrations in the dressing room after Tuesday’s momentous win at Tottenham.
While the boss expects a nervy final day akin to the 2022 comeback against Aston Villa, he will use that memorable victory to motivate this year’s squad.
Hinting at a meeting he will hold with the players in the coming days, Guardiola said that he will show them something to remind them of their individual and collective qualities, as well as what awaits them if they do win.
It was Ilkay Gundogan who was the hero two years ago against Villa, with Sergio Aguero the icon in 2012 on another nailbiting final day. Guardiola was asked if he will tell players they can write their names in history if they produce a similar moment on Sunday, but he instead pointed to their personal experiences.
“The fact that they live it not a long time ago means they feel it,” he replied. “They were happy but incredibly calm, nothing more special than another game in the Premier League. They knew it gave us a chance for the final day of the season.
“What i’m going to show them today, they will feel it.
“Pressed on that final line, Guardiola kept his cards close to his chest over the secretive meeting and what he will show his players.
“No [more information],” he said. “It belongs to us. I’m going to show them how good they are and what they have to do. As simple as that.
“The motivational meeting adds to Guardiola’s message that his side must only focus on themselves, and not think about Arsenal’s progress or even as far ahead as winning the title.
He added: “We want to experience it again and we have to perform. You can’t think ‘we want to win it’, you have to do something to [earn] it, you have to be resilient in the bad moments like what happened against Aston Villa [in 2022] and against Spurs in the last game.
“Don’t talk about the consequences, just what you have to do to win, to control it, the transitions, the coolness, the set-pieces, the long balls – how you defend every single ball. There’s a lot of stuff that West Ham demand that you have to do, and you have to do it perfect. These are the only things on my mind.
“I don’t want to play the game thinking about the consequences, what will happen if. We have to be focused more than ever and feel the support of our people – this is what we need to think about.
“Thinking about Arsenal losing at Manchester United [last week], forget about it. If you are thinking Everton are going to do something [at Arsenal on Sunday], forget about it.”
