London: The chairman of English Premier League champions Manchester City is confident the club will reach even greater heights under the ‘relentless’ Pep Guardiola despite having just completed a record-breaking season.
City became the first Premier League champions to post 100 points and won the title by a huge 19 points from second placed Manchester United. And with Guardiola having signed a new contract, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak expects further progress under the Catalan manager.
“My expectation and the management’s expectation, certainly Pep’s expectation, is that this team will continue to improve,” Al Mubarak was quoted as saying by ‘City TV’ Sunday.
“We have a coach, or a manager, in Pep who is relentless. There is not going to be any relaxation, that I can assure you. I have no doubt that this summer we’re going to come back and we’re going to be hungry and we’re going to be more aggressive and we’re going to continue to improve.”
City have won three Premier League titles since the Abu Dhabi United Group overseen by Sheikh Mansour took over the club in 2008. But they are yet to win back-to-back titles under their Gulf state owners, while the Champions League remains an elusive prize.
However, a bullish Al Mubarak predicted more success in the days to come: “We’ve worked very hard over the last couple of years to build the squad, not only for this season, but for many seasons to come. This is a young squad. Many of our most talented players are under the age of 26,” he stated. “You don’t get to 100 points without a full, high-quality squad, which is what we have.”
Al Mubarak said giving Guardiola a two-year contract extension had been a straightforward decision.
“Pep has been a joy to have as part of this club,” he said. “We see eye to eye. We shook hands on it and are happy to continue this journey.”