Hull vs. Manchester City: Pep Guardiola's Key Pre-Match Press Conference Quotes

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that although he’s satisfied with the players at his disposal, he may be on the lookout for new talent in the January transfer window. 

Speaking during a press conference ahead of City’s Boxing Day trip to Hull City, the Spaniard refused to deny that new players could be on the way to the Etihad Stadium.

City started the season in fine fettle, but recent performances and results have left even the most optimistic fans scratching their heads.

The defence is looking increasingly frail, while the attacking line has seemingly lost its lethal touch. However, with Gabriel Jesus set to join when the transfer window opens, Guardiola has another frontman to call upon:

Manchester City won a second consecutive Premier League game for the first time since early November last time out, but they’ll hope to make it a hat-trick of wins against lowly Hull.

Either way, Guardiola is taking nothing for granted and has revealed that his players will train on Christmas Day before getting the bus straight to Humberside, saying they’ll ignore the festivities to complete the job at hand:

City sit seven points adrift of leaders Chelsea in the Premier League, and they face a tough task in catching them up thanks to some tricky fixtures across December and January.

After travelling to Hull, City take on Liverpool at Anfield before taking on Everton and Tottenham Hotspur in the following weeks.

Dropping points could mean the gap between City and Chelsea grows, and Guardiola said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from the title favourites recently:

The busy festive period has proved decisive in many title races in the past, and even though the 45-year-old isn’t letting his players rest too much, he knows focus is the key at such a crucial time.

City should, on paper, have enough to see off Hull on Monday, but staying in the title race over the following weeks will be a different animal. For Guardiola’s first Premier League season to be a success, he needs to do exactly that.