‘It’s better to win the Treble’ – Trophy won’t change Pep Guardiola’s blunt assessment of surprising Man City season

To say that Manchester City have struggled this season would be to underplay just how uncharacteristically out of sorts the reigning Premier League champions have been at times. Part of the reason for their struggles could be put down to Rodri's potentially season-ending injury in September.

Manchester City, despite their struggles, still have the chance to win a trophy as they have made it into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after their comeback win over Plymouth Argyle. However, Guardiola has claimed that winning a trophy would not change his assessment of the season.

Speaking to the media, Guardiola said: "It is better to win the treble or quadruple. Come on. It has been a difficult period, we have not been good but if we win [the FA Cup] it will not change the season Of course not.

"We don't qualify for the first time the group stage in the Champions League. We are here in the Premier League with 13 or 14 games left and no chance to win, it has never happened before. This season has not been good. Of course, it will be nice to arrive at Wembley in the semi-finals with a chance to reach the final. We have a lot of respect for teams ahead of us."

Guardiola's team are continuing their hunt to qualify for the Champions League next season, and the Catalan tactician has claimed that he is happy with the way his side have played after their loss to Real Madrid last month. He said: "I had the feeling every step is getting better. Many good things happen. The mood is good, I had a feeling the last month has been a lot better. Maybe not for 90 minutes like Spurs but the reason for that is because we couldn't define the game in the first half.

"But against Liverpool we were really good, against Chelsea we were really good. Against Madrid forget about it - we were miles away from where we could expect to be to compete against the elite in Europe. Step by step I see good things, everybody is connected and we are going to battle for the last 11 games to be in the Champions League next season."