Pep Guardiola shows he is not scared of making the biggest decisions by dropping Manchester City keeper Joe Hart
Etihad boss insists stopper was not ready for Prem opener... as he plunges star's club and England future into serious doubt
PEP GUARDIOLA insisted he is not scared of making tough decisions — after ruthlessly axing Joe Hart.
The Manchester City boss caused a major shock when he dropped the England goalkeeper and opted for Willy Caballero in yesterday’s win over Sunderland.
Hart’s place for the Three Lions is now under threat, with Sam Allardyce at the Etihad Stadium yesterday to see his senior keeper warm the bench.
But on his first match as a Premier League boss, Guardiola says he is here to make the tough calls.
He said: “I am a guy that takes decisions, I
am not afraid about that. I feel it and do it. It is not because Joe cannot play. Or Yaya Toure or Samir Nasri.
“I decided for many reasons — for training more. I needed one rhythm, higher, so we needed to be so aggressive without the ball to create a good build-up.
“With Willy, John Stones and Aleksandar Kolarov we were amazing. For the short time we were together they did really well.”
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Guardiola says it was a decision made watching his men work in pre-season, even though Hart only got 45 minutes of action against Arsenal.
He said: “Willy played very well in pre-season and I trust him. I trust Joe as well but I had to make a decision and I took it. He gave me a lot of confidence for this game, he is building up plays, his personality, that is why I chose him.
“I thought Sunderland played high-pressing and I needed Willy as he had more training sessions on our build-up. We spent a lot of time working on two against one, three against two, four against three, using the goalkeeper.
“But it doesn’t mean Joe can’t do that. This was the most important game and I decided for this reason, no other reason.
“I have a lot of respect for Joe and his career. I know how good a goalkeeper he is but in this game I decided on Willy.”
Guardiola insists there is a way back for Hart and he has not yet made a decision on his team for the Champions League play-off against Steaua Bucharest.
He said: “He can play in the Champions League game, he’s part of the squad.”
Guardiola previously played a “cup” keeper when in Spain but he added: “In Barcelona it was like this but in Bayern Munich it was not like this.”
And Caballero admitted that he was shocked at getting his chance in the first-team after spending his career at City waiting for cup games and injuries for an opportunity to show his quality.
He said: “It was a surprise for me. I trained very hard during pre-season to get this opportunity. I tried to enjoy it and we started very well.”
The Argie says it will take time for City to adapt to a new way of working.
He said: “For sure it takes time. It’s a new country, new club for the boss. But the ideas, way to play, we know a lot of what he wants.
“We have had the total squad for two weeks and this was the best way to start. We have a lot of days to keep going.”
Toure was also axed from the matchday squad, with Nicolas Otamendi on the bench and full-back Kolarov playing in central defence.
Guardiola said: “I don’t have any complaints about the way they trained, Yaya trained really well but I decided from what I see.”
Stones made his debut following his £47.5million move from Everton and was delighted to get off to a winning start.
He said: “We worked hard for the three or four days I’ve been here and we brought a lot of good things to the game.
“We were patient with the ball and chose the times to attack. Sometimes we could have played a bit quicker but I’m pleased with how the boys did.
“We had a lot of chances and are disappointed we did not get more goals. I didn’t think we deserved to concede, they were good defensive moments as well.”
Guardiola got off to a flier when Sergio Aguero tucked away a penalty after Raheem Sterling was brought down by Patrick van Aanholt.
But Jermain Defoe levelled in the second half and it needed a late own goal from Patrick McNair to make sure Pep got off to a winning start.
Guardiola said: “I realise how difficult it is, definitely. You are not safe until the ref says ‘OK go home’.
“Long ball, free-kick, tall guys, second balls, I can imagine the last minutes of an away game. But what I felt in the first minutes here, with the Beatles song and the players doing well was great.
“There were so many good things but I’ll be the first to say if I see something bad.”