Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he was responsible for his side’s underwhelming form this season, in which they have won just two of their last 10 Premier League games.

The run of poor form has left the reigning champions sixth in the standings with 31 points from 19 matches, 14 fewer than leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

City’s campaign has been hindered by a rash of injuries, with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, goalkeeper Ederson, as well as defenders John Stones and Ruben Dias among those sidelined.

“There are many, many things and I missed something – something I am not doing well,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of Saturday’s home game against 13th-placed West Ham United.

“In the end, when you lose a lot of games, it is an incredible responsibility for the manager to take. There is something the team needs and confidence, and I was not able to do it.

“The call is on me first, it’s not the players. They naturally drop a little bit and that is normal. It happened a little bit last season as well.

“I blame (myself). It’s not to say, ‘Oh, how nice is Pep’ – it’s the truth. I led that group of players and I could not lift them. This is the reality.”

Guardiola’s side will look to make it two wins on Saturday after beating relegation-threatened Leicester City 2-0 last weekend.

-Reuters

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Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes are all but over with the defending champions having left themselves too much ground to make up as they trail leaders Liverpool by 14 points, midfielder Bernardo Silva said.

City lifted a record fourth straight English top-flight title last season, but have struggled in this campaign and sit sixth in the table after winning only two of their last 10 league matches.

Pep Guardiola’s team has been hit hard by injuries this season, with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri out for the rest of the season and several players spending lengthy spells on the sidelines.

“Right now it’s about accepting reality. I’m not looking at Liverpool. I’m sixth in the league, I cannot be looking at Liverpool or Arsenal,” Silva told Sky Sports in an interview published on Thursday.

“I’m looking at the next game to try and win three points… I wouldn’t say it’s impossible because in football there are no impossibles but right now Manchester City is completely out of the title race, no question about that, it’s too late for us.

“People say you cannot win the league until January, but you can lose it. This season the reality is that we have lost it.”

City host 13th-placed West Ham United in a league match on Saturday, before taking on fourth-tier side Salford City in the FA Cup on Jan. 11.

-Reuters

Ruben Amorim called it “embarrassing” as a Manchester United manager to be discussing the threat of relegation, but after Monday’s miserable 2-0 Premier League loss to Newcastle United he conceded that is the reality his team are facing.

Newcastle’s Alexander Isak and Joelinton headed early goals to hand Amorim’s team their fifth loss in their last six league games. They go into the new year 14th in the table, much closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League positions.

“I think (relegation) is a possibility and we have to be clear with our fans. We have to change something but this season will be really hard on everybody. It can make us stronger and we have to fight,” Amorim said.

“It’s also my fault in this moment, because I think the team is not improved, I think it is a little bit lost in this moment. So it’s a little bit embarrassing to be much as United coach and to lose a lot of games. But we have to cope with that, difficult moments in the life of everybody. So it’s a hard moment.”

Amorim has had anything but a dream start to his United career, suffering five defeats in his first eight league games — the worst record for a Manchester United manager in 103 years.

“Worrying times for Manchester United and Ruben Amorim,” former United defender Gary Neville said on Sky Sports. “He came in as a young manager and knew it was going to be a big job, but it is far bigger than he could have ever imagined.”

Neville called United “the worst pound for pound team in the country.”

There have been questions over Amorim’s commitment to his tactical 3-4-3 approach, and there were even more after Monday’s loss. The defensive issues that plagued former manager Erik ten Hag have haunted Amorim as well, with both goals on Monday coming largely thanks to blunders in the back line.

“Of course, I didn’t choose the players specifically for that position, but that I already knew,” Amorim said, when asked if he has the talent to play his formation. “I have to sell my idea, if I’m going to change all the time it is going to be even worse.

“But I understand that they have a lot of difficulties, because they spend two years playing one way, and then they are playing another, and with a lot of losses, is really tough on them, and you can feel it during the game.

“I have to sell my idea. I don’t have another one.”

One of the game’s ugliest moments came when Amorim took struggling Joshua Zirkzee off in the 33rd minute to boos from the Old Trafford crowd.

-Reuters