‘We have to improve otherwise it will not be enough’ – Guardiola warns Man City players despite comfortable win over West Ham | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola warned his Manchester City players that their current level of performance will not be enough to win the Premier League title.

That is despite City moving top of the league with a 3-0 win over West Ham thanks to a double from Erling Haaland and goal from Tijjani Reijnders.

“With the ball, we are away (from the standard required),” Guardiola said after the game. “We are away from what we have to do.

“The way you attack depends on the way the opponent defends. You have to be in the right spots and the right positions to be more fluid. And we were not that way.

“I’m happy. We are up there in the Champions League, semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

“But the way we play with the ball, we have to improve otherwise it will not be enough in March or April to arrive to be contenders to win the title.”

Guardiola, however, reiterated his belief that his team will be in a position to contend for the title later on in the season, and that they will make the improvements required.

“We will be there,” he said. “If they follow me, we will be there. But we have to improve.

“I know the level in Europe, I know the level in the Premier League, I know Arsenal, I know the other teams and how tough they are.

“It’s not enough. The spirit is there. We didn’t have that last season. The spirit, the aggression, the hunger, all these attributes that they need.

“It’s not about the highlights, the big picture, how good the actions are. There is something that comes from inside, that we recover from the Club World Cup in the United States.

“The next step, hopefully some players like Rodri are back, but there are many, many things we have to do better.

“But we cannot forget Jeremy (Doku) is not here, Kovacic is not here, Rodri is not here, Omar Marmoush is not here, Rayan Ait-Nouri is not here, he didn’t play much but we need him. Nico O’Reilly plays every three days for 90 minutes.

“We have four or five players from the academy on the bench. We need them back.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m delighted, I’m happy. These guys are top. They follow us and they give their lives.

“But if you want to reach the next step whether we play a diamond, five at the back, four at the back, there are spaces and different ways. You have to be there. The right spots. You have to find the position. Today that was not good.”