Not going to apologise for what I said as we need support from fans, asserts Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has hit out at the general secretary of Manchester City's official supporters' club, Kevin Parker and admitted that he won’t apologise for saying what he did about the fans. The Spaniard said that the club ‘need’ more fans to attend their weekend game against Southampton.
With Manchester City winning 6-3 against RB Leipzig, it saw Pep Guardiola ask fans to keep supporting the club especially in light of the fact that only 38,062 attended the fixture. The Etihad Stadium has a capacity of just over 55,000 and the City boss was disappointed that the ground wasn’t filled despite it being a Champions League night against a tough opponent, with the game proving to be an exciting contest.
However, that hasn’t gone down well with the general secretary of City's official supporters' club, Kevin Parker, who hit out at the boss and told him to “stick” to coaching instead. Not only that, Parker asserted that fans were supporting the club with the two home Premier League games this season averaging 51,000 plus fans. But that in turn didn’t go down with Guardiola who refused to apologise for his comments and instead admitted that the club need the support.
"Did I say after the game that I was disappointed that the stadium was not full? An interpretation is an interpretation. I am surprised about what happened with this man. It's not the first time I've said this in my career. I am not going to apologise for what I said. What I said was we need the support,” Guardiola said, reported Sky Sports.
“It doesn't matter how many people come but I invite them to come and enjoy the game because we need the support. Always I've said, guys if you want to join us I will be incredibly happy, because I know how difficult it will be. I prefer to be with my people than without my people. But if they don't come for any reason it's perfect. I never say 'Why didn't you come?'. Mr Parker should review the comments I've done the day after, but I will not apologise to him."