New players bring fresh focus and energy - Pep | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola says that new faces help bring a fresh energy and focus to his Manchester City squad.

We added four new signings in the January transfer window with Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Omar Marmoush and Nico all arriving while Argentinian midfielder Claudio Echeverri joined up with the first team.

With injuries to John Stones and Manuel Akanji and the long-term absence of Rodri, Guardiola was thankful to be able to call upon hew arrivals in the second half of the season.

The boss will have them available for our Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday at 12:30 (UK).

And he says they have brought a desire to make an impact and to fit into City’s playing system.

“The new players bring something,” Guardiola said in his news conference ahead of the important trip to the City Ground. “We are nine years [here], so they bring something different of course.

“They want to be here and are incredibly focused in every training.

“When you arrive in one place and everything is new, you are incredibly focused and you have a dream to make a good impact, not just on the team but on English football.

“Of course they are there and we’ve seen it. Both the minutes they played because Vitor played in a tough game at Orient, because of the pitch and conditions and the opponents, after the first few minutes, they behaved really well. And in the last game against a striker from Plymouth who was so strong and he handled it really well.

“But still there a few things, especially on the ball that they need time to improve and realise.”

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Guardiola said he would love to have the players that have made such a massive contribution to our years of success forever.

But he added that he feels a responsibility to help new players reach the same level, which also keeps his own focus as a coach.

“New players always give you a boost,” Pep added. “You cannot disappoint them.

“They have an opinion of you from [an] external [perspective]. As much as you want to be serious and professional, you want to help them.

“It’s a question of time and I would like to have the old players eternally but it’s not possible.

“It happens not just for the players, but for the managers, the backroom staff - people change, it’s normal.”