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Pep Guardiola joined Manchester City from Bayern Munich in 2016 Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says his performance as manager this season has been "really poor". City, Premier League champions in each of the last four seasons, are fifth in the table and 22 points behind leaders Liverpool with nine matches remaining. Guardiola, who has guided City to six Premier League titles since joining in 2016, has never finished a season lower than third with any club during his managerial career. Asked how he rates his own work as manager this term, Guardiola, 54, said: "This season? Really poor. "The opponents never gave us a red carpet to win the titles that we won in the past. My duty was to overcome the situation much better than I have done [this season]. " He said the reason this has happened are "a few details", adding: "Hopefully this will not happen next season. This is important. " City are hoping to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the seventh consecutive season when they take on Bournemouth in the quarter-finals on Sunday at the Vitality Stadium (16: 30 BST). But Guardiola says even victory in the competition and qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in the top four would not make amends for their failed Premier League title defence. "Of course it would be nice to arrive in the final of the FA Cup and win it, and qualify for the Champions League, " said Guardiola. "That would be a big success but the season has been poor and it's not going to change. "Our standards and many things were not good, this is the reality. That's not going to change for the fact we win one title or qualify for the Champions League. "We'll be happy, of course. We want to do it but the season has not been good. " We 'don't deserve' Club World Cup bonus - Guardiola Latest Manchester City news, analysis and fan views Get Manchester City news sent straight to your phone Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser 'It will be special' - Forest reach first FA Cup semi since 1991 Mbappe scores winner as Real Madrid survive Leganes scare 'Pressure is a privilege' for 'world class' Kildunne Dark crime thriller with Elen Rhys and Richard Harrington A story of deceit, lies and dodgy drams Kinahan: One of the world's most feared crime organisations The toxic waste scandal that shattered a community 'It will be special' - Forest reach first FA Cup semi since 1991 'Pressure is a privilege' for 'world class' Kildunne Eze, clean sheets & Taylor Swift - Palace eye FA Cup glory What went wrong for Motta and why are Juventus in a 'mess'? Relegation and the race for Europe - what's to play for in WSL? What can Arsenal fans expect from new sporting director Berta? 'Raducanu needs lasting plan to build on Miami progress' What were the biggest moves of NFL free agency? 'A house of cards' - Sampdoria face 'unthinkable' relegation Sad story of 'Mr Wigan Athletic' proves football family still exists Brilliant FA Cup free-kicks - Beckham & Payet star. Video Brilliant FA Cup free-kicks - Beckham & Payet star Grayson's journey from Villa & Preston to Everest base camp 'No evidence leading back to me' - Mayer on Ryan paint attack Archie Vaughan on living with his father's legacy We need some Ashes glory in colour, says England's Wane The Jordan shot that 'changed the world' Which is the biggest football club in Britain? Who is through to World Cup - and how does qualifying work? Four tactical lessons we learned from Tuchel's first games Were Ferrari at fault or unlucky with disqualifications? Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.