The National Times - Guardiola vows struggling Man City will 'recover our best'

City's 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Saturday came after losses to Tottenham in the League Cup, Bournemouth in the Premier League and Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

Guardiola's men, chasing an unprecedented fifth straight Premier League title, are now five points behind leaders Liverpool after 11 matches in the English top flight.

"I was a football player and many times I lost a lot of games -- four in a row, five in a row, six in a row," said the City boss.

"I never expect different, the fact we won in the past, that we are special. People can believe that but it's not true."

City are struggling badly with injuries, with Ruben Dias, John Stones, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish among those absent for the defeat at Bournemouth.

"We are not consistent enough to maintain this level that helped us to win what we want for many years," said Guardiola. "Hopefully in the future we'll come back, and if we don't come back we'll learn from that."

City have been champions in six of the past seven seasons but it is not uncommon for them to stumble in the autumn.

Last season they won just one league game in six during a spell in November and December but recovered to retain the title.

"Don't be complacent when you win a lot, know how difficult it is," said Guardiola. "That makes us believe how difficult it was and how nice it will be when we win again."

He added: "Right now we are not in our best, it's obvious. But still it's November so hopefully we'll come back step by step. Every game will be tough for every team. We'll recover our best and then we'll see."

After the current international break, City face a testing run-up to Christmas with matches against Tottenham, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Aston Villa.

T.Ward--TNT