“They will remain in my heart” – Pep Guardiola pays special tribute to select few Manchester City players after commitment in losing run | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to a secret group of Manchester City players for their commitment to the club during the recent torrid run of form across competitions.

The reigning Premier League champions’ season took a huge hit over the course of November and December, widely viewed as knocking them out of the English top-flight title race and throwing their hopes of a UEFA Champions League last-16 place into jeopardy.

Since those results, Manchester City have seen somewhat of a recovery but came crashing back down to earth on Wednesday night when Paris Saint-Germain issued a further mammoth blow on their European hopes.

Despite leading 0-2 in the French capital with 35 minutes remaining in the contest, a stunning Paris performance put four goals beyond Ederson in the Manchester City goal, moving PSG into the play-off places for the last-16, and shifting City into the elimination zone.

Nevertheless, there remains hope within the camp that a spot in the play-offs for the knock-out stage will be recorded, but City will need nothing other than a win when Club Brugge visit the Etihad Stadium next week.

Speaking during a new interview with TNT Sports, Pep Guardiola has insisted that there are a select few players within his existing Manchester City squad that will ‘remain in his heart’ forever after the way they fought for the club during a torrid run of form in recent months.

“That is why I never ever forget those players that were there, never, and they know who they are. In the team, the circumstances were horrible, playing in positions where they could not compete with the other one,” Guardiola said.

He continued, “I know the names, they will remain in my heart, they will define that [poor run of results]. How the people with injuries made the effort to play, players that were really, really tired and would say we can’t compete, we can’t win games, but they were able to do it.

“When they were there, the day after, they were always sad. On the second day they would say, ‘OK, let’s try again’. It may not work, but they want to try again and try again.

“I love it, I love who they are, and I love and will always admire them. I will appreciate them for the rest of my period here.”

Manchester City will be eager to bounce back to winning ways on Saturday evening when Chelsea are the visitors to the Etihad Stadium, as fourth takes on fifth in the chase for the elusive top-four ranks in the Premier League this season.