It's time to pep up city!

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (centre) speaks to his players during their English Premier League defeat to Brighton in Brighton recently. City lost the match 1-2. Pic/Getty Images

Pep Guardiola's two-year contract extension at Manchester City gives him a chance to prolong his unprecedented dominance of the English Premier League.
His first priority, however, is to arrest the worst losing streak of his managerial career.

Four straight losses in all competitions see four-time defending champions City trail leaders Liverpool by five points in England's top flight.

Early exit from League Cup

City are out of the English League Cup and have been humbled in the Champions League 1-4 by Sporting Lisbon in one of Ruben Amorim's final acts before taking over Manchester United.

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Guardiola's rule appears to be under threat. But we've been here before. City's success under Guardiola - winning six of the last seven leagues and becoming the first English team to claim four in a row - has been characterised by its ability to go on remarkable winning runs that have eventually killed the challenge of rivals.

Whether Guardiola's current team - with key players aging and/or injured - has the ability to go again, is unclear. And anything other than victory against Tottenham on Saturday would raise more questions about City's title credentials.

‘I cannot leave now'

Guardiola is determined to orchestrate yet another fightback. "I cannot leave now. Maybe the four defeats were the reason why I felt I cannot leave," Guardiola told the club's website after extending his contract until 2027.

"Since the beginning of the season I was thinking a lot about this moment [contract extension]. I will be honest, I thought [this season] should be the last one, but as this situation comes and with the problems we have in the last month, I felt now was not the time to leave. I don't want to let the club down. I felt the confidence from the chairman [Khaldoon Al Mubarak] and everyone, and I had the feeling I have to do it. Hopefully, we can add more trophies to the ones we've already won. That will be my focus," added Guardiola.

Interestingly, this is not the first time City have run into trouble in a campaign's early stages. Losing to Aston Villa 0-1 last December marked a run of four games without a win in the league. It turned out to be the last time Guardiola's team lost in the league all season. In February last year, City lost to Tottenham 0-1 and were five points adrift of leader Arsenal. They were then unbeaten in their next 16 league games and also went on to win the treble. A five-point gap to Liverpool in November looks far less daunting in comparison.

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