Pep Guardiola has responded to Gary Neville’s criticism of his decision to name just six substitutes against Burnley last Saturday.
Guardiola said he was so depleted of first-team players because of injuries, that he couldn’t name a full squad for Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Turf Moor. The City coach also claimed that he didn’t select a youth-team player on the bench because the development side had a match the previous evening.
However, Neville was strongly critical of Pep’s decision on Sky Sports, calling it a “joke.”
“If you’re an academy manager at Manchester City, you must think you’re wasting your time,” the former Manchester United defender said.
“Six players on the bench?! Forget the fact that they’ve spent so much money… Six players on the bench? That to me looks like a protest, and I’m not sure why he’s peddling this thing… He’s an absolutely incredible manager, the work that he has done with this team is unbelievable, and the team performance is absolutely outstanding, it really is. But things like that just let him down, he doesn’t need to do things like that.”
But Neville can rest easy ahead of City’s fixture with Leicester City on Saturday, as Guardiola has said he will name a full squad for the match, and he referenced the Sky Sports pundit. Pep was clearly made aware of Neville’s strong criticism of his decision.
“We will have 18 players on the bench, and Gary Neville can be happy,” he told reporters on Friday.
Pep Guardiola: "We will have 18 players in the squad, so @GNev2 can be happy." pic.twitter.com/Zerp5lM6Ma
— City Report (@cityreport_) February 9, 2018
Neville took it well.
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) February 9, 2018
