Is uncertainty over Guardiola’s future hurting Man City’s results?

While the rest of the footballing world wonders at Manchester City’s alarming slump in form, Pep Guardiola at least believes he knows the root of the problem. 

Speaking after City lost 2-1 at Brighton on Saturday, marking the first time under Guardiola that they have suffered four defeats in a row in all competitions, their manager was defiant. 

“The level we are playing is really good in certain moments but we are not able to continue for a long time,” he said. “I’m pretty sure when the players come back [after the international break] and we make some individual qualities in the team, we’ll be back.”

Injuries have undoubtedly taken their toll on City, as they have on some of their Premier League title rivals. Kevin De Bruyne’s prolonged absence has hurt them creatively, while the absences of Ruben Dias and John Stones have left them vulnerable at the back.

The biggest miss has undoubtedly been Rodri, recently crowned Ballon d’Or winner and the man who makes City’s midfield tick. The Spaniard has been out for nine of their last 10 defeats, underlining just how badly they miss him when he is sidelined.

But Rodri’s knee ligament injury is a season-ender, so there is no prospect of his return providing Guardiola with a quick fix. Pep knows he will have to come up with a creative solution to this tactical headache, as he has in previous seasons.

“This is my challenge, our challenge, and I like to face it,” he said. “I will not step back at all. More than ever I want to do it. We will try again.”

Putting all of the emphasis on injuries does ignore the two elephants in the room, however. One is the almost weekly twists in the club’s multiple legal battles with the Premier League, which increasingly resemble a zero-sum game.

The fact is that no one either inside the club or outside what the next few months could hold. It could be exoneration or relegation, titles reaffirmed or titles stripped. Players may say they only focus on the pitch, but there are plenty at City for whom this must be a distraction.

Which brings us back to Guardiola. With little over seven months until his current contract is due to expire, we are no nearer to knowing whether he will walk away from City next summer or extend his tenure into a ninth season.

The Catalan is set to lose one of his right-hand men and architects of City’s rise to the pinnacle of Europe, director of football Txiki Begiristain, at the end of the season. Guardiola’s previous contract extensions were confirmed in November, but it remains silent on that front.

Pep said after Brighton that he knew people were desperate for City’s era of dominance to end. “I smell it for many, many years,” he said. Perhaps opponents are also getting wind of the many uncertainties shrouding the Premier League champions.