Pep Guardiola admits winning trophies is the only measure of success that really matters in football.
The Manchester City manager has made no secret of the fact he considers winning silverware of secondary importance to producing teams that play according to his footballing ideals.
Yet he recognises that the club will be judged on the prizes they win and he is determined to ensure City’s success continues to breed more of the same.
“You need strategies, ideas, whatever – but at the end you need trophies,” the Spaniard said. “Without trophies you cannot convince people. Only that carries weight in football.”
City are enjoying a golden era that is now in its second decade.
The club went 35 years without winning a major trophy until their victory in the 2011 FA Cup final but have claimed 12 more since.
Guardiola has masterminded the last eight of them and three more could follow this season as City chase a treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Guardiola has no doubt success breeds success and is thankful for the work of predecessors Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini in helping establish that winning momentum.
He said: “Winning trophies gives confidence, you feel stronger. You feel that we have done it and we can do it again.
“For a long time we didn’t win and to break that first step like Roberto has done and after Manuel, it’s huge credit. Maybe we would not be here without that.
“For the investment of the club, the good players that arrived a decade ago, they helped us to be who we are. I never forget the past, never, never. Always I give a lot for things that all the managers, the people here, helped us to build.”
Conversely, Guardiola believes the opposite can occur if clubs consistently fail to win trophies, with barren years potentially leading to more lean seasons.
He was not referring to Manchester United when expressing this opinion at a press conference, but his words could sound as an ominous warning to the club across the city.
United’s Champions League exit in midweek condemned the Old Trafford outfit to a fifth successive season without a trophy.
Guardiola said: “When you go three years, four years, five years (with) no wins every year is more difficult.
“The more you win it is more easier and more easier. That’s why when you don’t win titles, try to break it quickly, otherwise it is more difficult.”
City, who lead the Premier League by a point, turn attention to the FA Cup this weekend as they travel to Southampton in the quarter-finals.
