Guardiola compares himself to a woman who can multi-task

Pep Guardiola insists his multi-tasking qualities mean his forthcoming tenure as Manchester City manager will not distract him from matters at Bayern Munich.

The Premier League club announced this week Guardiola would take charge at the Etihad Stadium, with Manuel Pellegrini stepping down at the end of this term.

The 45-year-old declared in December he would leave Bayern when his contract expires later in the year but, with a trip to in-form Bayern Levekusen on the horizon, he was reluctant to entertain talk about City.

“I will not speak before May or June on Manchester City,” he told a news conference on Friday. “When I’m in Manchester, I’ll say more about it.

“I am like a woman. I can do several things at once. It’s not a problem, I have a big talent for this.

“I told my option [moving to the Premier League] a few weeks ago.

“I have no problem with that, if I am attacked daily by the newspapers because I’m going to do everything for Bayern until my last day here.

“I know it has never happened before, a manager leaving Bayern – normally Bayern leaves the manager. But we have four months.”

Guardiola’s appearance followed a tense briefing on Wednesday from Matthias Sammer, where Bayern’s sporting director was strongly critical of media coverage of the club.

The outgoing coach stated there was no need for Sammer to defend him personally but expressed exasperation with news conferences.

“Coaches don’t get any respect anymore. It doesn’t matter what we say,” he added. “Why don’t you write about the wonderful words I say to my players before games.

“I don’t know why coaches even give press conferences anymore. There are important papers here that have not even asked me questions about the sport.

“It was the right decision not to give [individual] interviews. Journalists must know why they are here. I love to talk about tactics – back three, back four and so on.”