MANCHESTER City manager Pep Guardiola says he could not leave the club after suffering four consecutive defeats for the first time in his coaching career.
Guardiola has signed a two-year contract with City which will keep him at the club until 2027.
The 53-year-old Spaniard joined City in 2016 and has won 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles.
His contract had been due to expire at the end of the current season, and he signs a new deal on the back of defeats to Tottenham, Brighton, Sporting and Bournemouth.
“I felt I could not leave now. Maybe the four defeats was why,” Guardiola told the club’s website.
“I think we deserve, after four defeats in a row, to bounce back and try to turn the situation. I think we deserve to be here. I am not arrogant to say, but it’s the truth.”
Guardiola said he is determined to help City “overcome” their current difficult predicament and reach a level where they “are more stable and more consistent” to scale the heights of the past.
“We have to recover that because right now we don’t have it and that’s the target we have to do,” he added.
It is the first time Guardiola has endured such a streak of losses – excluding penalty shootouts – in his managerial career.
Guardiola also said that being in charge of City “means so much” to him and he has “everything a manager could ever wish for” at the club.
“This is my ninth season here. We have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club,” he said.
“Hopefully now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
It was reported that Guardiola had agreed a new contract on Wednesday and the club confirmed the news a day later.
