Pep Lijnders admits Manchester City are currently battling “the hardest thing in football” | OneFootball

Manchester City assistant Pep Lijnders has admitted he and his colleagues, alongside the playing squad at the club, are currently engaged in “the hardest thing in football”.

The Dutchman’s latest comments offer further insight into a theme that has run consistently throughout Manchester City’s season so far, with both Pep Guardiola and his staff acknowledging the challenges that come with sustaining elite-level success.

Pep Guardiola has openly discussed squad evolution, net spend narratives, and the need for refreshment following a prolonged period of dominance both domestically and in Europe, and recent months have somewhat wholesale change alongside established leaders such as Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias continuing to anchor the side.

On the pitch, the reality of that transition has at times been exposed as injuries, dips in form, and the integration of younger players contribute to inconsistency, even as Manchester City remain competitive across multiple competitions.

However, there have also been flashes of the next iteration taking shape as younger squad members have been trusted on the biggest stage, and new star faces grab the challenge by its horns such as Rayan Cherki and Gianluigi Donnarumma in particular.

Speaking during recent media commitments in place of head coach Pep Guardiola, Pep Lijnders was quizzed on the areas he felt Manchester City could be helped with most upon his arrival at the club last summer.

“I think it’s quite normal that when you build, when you win, when you win, my feeling in football and I’ve been through that process with Liverpool as well, the hardest thing is to renew a team that was so successful,” the Dutchman explained.

“If you have so many players so important for a club to win trophy after trophy, the big one [UEFA Champions League], to renew that always comes with ups and downs because the standards are really high, you expect it, but new players have to give the same kind of standards,” he continued.

“It’s the hardest thing in football and I think we are on the way, I think you will feel glimpses, and I think it’s the youngest Champions League team we had – we used seven players under 22 in the Champions League format.

“That’s a good sign for the future, but these players have to build together with Rodri, with Bernardo [Silva], together with Ruben [Dias], together with all these guys who have already been through it, to build something new. We are giving everything to make that happen.”

If the balance between experience and youth can be refined over the coming months, Manchester City may yet emerge from this transition stronger and more sustainable, although for now, the challenge is significant and it remains to be seen whether silverware success is possible at the earliest point in this new phase at the club.