Manchester City

Pep Guardiola: 'Manchester City must win titles to become a big club'

By Jonny Whitfield, ReporterPublished: 08 January 2018 11:05 AM

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says that his side are not good enough without trophies, and that titles must be won if they are to become a "big club".

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said that his side are not good enough without trophies, and that titles must be won if they are to become a "big club".

City face Bristol City in the first leg of an EFL Cup semi-final on Tuesday in the hunt to claim the first silverware of the season, and are in pole position at the summit of the Premier League table.

While former Barcelona boss Guardiola has enjoyed City's unbeaten start to the domestic campaign, he insists that the club must lift trophies to earn recognition as one of England's biggest football clubs.

"It's important [to win trophies]," the Spaniard told Sky Sports News. "To become a big club like the teams I have faced, or teams like [Manchester] United or Liverpool, with a really big history, you have to win.

"Nobody can take away what we have lifted so far - the pleasures from this team of the last three or four months, they belong to us. But after, of course, to give real value to what we have done so far, what we are going to do in the future, you have to lift the titles.

"Without that, it's OK, it's good, but not enough."

City's game against Bristol is followed by a crunch league meeting with Liverpool at Anfield.