Guardiola insists ageing squad is not behind City's alarming drop in form

Pep Guardiola has denied that a key factor in Manchester City's run of five consecutive defeats is that nine of his squad are aged 30 or older, with the manager pointing to how the same players were Premier League champions last season.

- Jamie Jackson

The 4-0 defeat by Tottenham on Saturday was their second loss in the sequence to Ange Postecoglou's team, the others against Brighton, Sporting and Bournemouth. This is City's poorest run under Guardiola and the worst of his coaching career.

Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Ederson, Stefan Ortega, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gündogan, Kyle Walker and Scott Carson are all 30 or over. Gündogan apart, all were at City when, in May, they won the title for a fourth time in succession.

"It depends on the performance," Guardiola said when asked, before City host Feyenoord in the Champions League tomorrow, whether advancing years were the prime reason for his team's alarming drop in form. "There are players who are 30 and more than 30 who perform incredibly well. There are players who are 23 who perform not good. I don't see the age. All teams have players with certain ages.