Pep Guardiola used Manchester City's 115 charges from the
Premier League to foster a siege mentality among his squad after a tricky run of form. City's new behind-the-scenes documentary details the dressing room reaction to the news that the Premier League had charged the club with 115 alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules. The documentary shows Guardiola trying to turn around City's form at the start of 2023, questioning their desire to win the Premier League again. After a sticky patch in January and February, City clicked into gear to race to an historic treble. And the documentary shows a key scene before the home win against Aston Villa - the first game since the charges were announced - where Guardiola implemented a key pre-match change to use the Premier League charges to his advantage. ALSO READ: Every word of Guardiola epic rant at Man City stars after Southampton ALSO READ: Man City fan group calls on club to hold meeting on ticket issues The documentary does not offer much new light on City's stance. Their statement issued at the time - that they welcome an independent judgement of the evidence to clear their name - was repeated and a clip of Guardiola's defiant press conference a few days later - where he insisted he will not step down as manager - was shown. But dressing room insight is provided ahead of the Villa game as Guardiola gathers his full squad and backroom staff in a circle around him in the dressing room prior to kick-off. City had just lost at
Tottenham, after a series of games where the manager had berated his players for their attitude. Now, in light of the Premier League charges, Guardiola declared his love for the club and told his players to implement a pre-match huddle on the pitch, before issuing a rallying cry. “I need to talk to you. Come here," he began. "First, every single game now, starting today, when we are together before the referee starts the game. You hug each other, the players, in the centre circle close to the referee and the opponents. And someone, it doesn’t matter, you start to talk one, two, three and say it in the eyes that we are going to win every single game, or at least we are going to try. "Second, I love this club. Don’t tell me why. Especially for the bad moments, they helped me. I want my warriors. You are going to support me unconditionally guys. I wanna fight this Premier League my
Friends. I wanna fight this Premier League more than ever. Attack everyone and defend everyone. Everything we have won, guys, has been on the pitch, always. I love the club. I love you too. Let’s go." City did not lose again in the league until the title was won, winning 14 of the next 15 games. The pre-match huddles continued throughout the season and into the current campaign. City maintain their innocence of the charges.