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pep guardiola has advised its players to lose weight and warned them not to have too much fun on Christmas.
Manchester City The Manager has made it clear that any member of the team who returns from leave during the holidays will not be included in the nottingham forest Next week.
Guardiola even refused to give his players a day off after Saturday’s comfortable Premier League win over West Ham in a bid to ensure the message was hammered home.
The Spaniard was not happy with the level of performance, even though the 3–0 success – their fifth consecutive league win – kept the pressure on leaders Arsenal and even took them top for a few hours.
Guardiola said: “The players asked me to take a day off. I said, ‘No because you didn’t play well.’
“So recovery on Sunday, train the guys who didn’t play, and after three days off they have two days to prepare for Nottingham Forest.
“Each player makes weight. They come back on the 25th and I will control there how many kilos they gain, (to see) whether they get fat or not.”
Guardiola said he would weigh the players as soon as they arrived.
“They can eat but I want to control them.
“I have to be selected for (December) 27 against Nottingham Forest.
“Imagine a player and now he is perfect but he would come in three kilos overweight. He would stay in Manchester. He would not travel to Nottingham Forest.”
Guardiola explained that he currently sees “everything right” in terms of fitness, and it was other aspects of the performance against the Hammers that troubled him.
“The problem is not running. One of the characteristics of my teams since I started at Barcelona B is that we run like an animal, but that is not enough. We have to play better,” he said.
Despite this, Guardiola feels it is important that his players spend some time with their families and enjoy themselves.
It is the first time since the November international break that City have not played a midweek match and he himself is traveling to Barcelona to spend time with his father.
He said, “I have a holiday next week, I will be with my family and having champagne.”
“I have learned from England, ever since I came, take as many days off (where you can), you give them.
“The schedule is very busy and players tend to forget. The more they arrive at the right time (the better). They will be fresher in the moment of the game.
“The players have to go with the families and forget about football. It’s good. For them to meet the manager every day – it’s very hard!”