'It can't happen!' - Pep Guardiola admits Man City 'could not defend properly' in Tottenham demolition but says changing approach would be a mistake

Spurs ran riot at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, as a brace from James Maddison and goals from Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson condemned City to a thumping defeat. Guardiola's side have now lost five games in all competitions, two of which have come against Tottenham, along with losses to Sporting CP, Bournemouth and Brighton.

Guardiola had never before lost five competitive games in a row in his managerial career and this defeat leaves the Premier League champions five points behind leaders Liverpool, who face Southampton on Sunday. Guardiola insists his players must bounce back and ensure such a performance is not repeated - he claims his side forgot how to defend - but he has restated his belief that the club can come out of what is fast becoming a crisis.

Guardiola told BBC Sport: "We are fragile at the moment, we could not defend properly. We started well, struggled to score and then conceded. Then situation is more difficult. I’ve been here as a player, maybe not as a manager, first three games at Barcelona we lost. The only chance we have is stay there. Last eight years the results have been there, it would be a mistake to change the approach.

"There are not fairytales in life and sport, sometimes you have to live through these situations. You have to accept it. You can't blame each other, stay together, continue to do what we have done. Run away? Absolutely not, we have to stand up more than ever. What will define us is when we fail, we stand up and face it.

"I don’t know what will happen this season, but not for one second will I not believe in these players. There is no team in the world that can sustain success for eight, nine, 10 years in a row."

To Sky Sports, he added: "Chances were there. The moment they create the chances the build-up, we couldn't handle the duels like normally. Now we're struggling a little bit.

"It cannot happen. When you play top level teams we can concede chances but it's part of the process. In our situation it's a bit tougher. I have to see the situation. The players came back late [from internationals]. There were a few reasons we're not able to be consistent. Now the balance is not in the right moment. But it happened. We have to do it, talk and on Tuesday against Feyenoord have the chance to try."

Guardiola has now lost nine games to Spurs across his career; no team has beaten him more often than the Lilywhites, with those defeats coming in a variety of competitions, including the Champions League.

City play Feyenoord in the Champions League in midweek and will then face Liverpool at Anfield. A win in the latter fixture has suddenly become vitally important for Guardiola and his charges.