Pep Guardiola explains why he has stayed at Man City for so long

Pep Guardiola has had plenty to say about the football calendar recently, but the Manchester City boss admits the relentless nature of the schedule might have helped him survive as long as he has at the Etihad.

The Catalan is the second longest-serving manager in the Premier League behind Jurgen Klopp and only two managers at the 72 EFL clubs have lasted longer than Guardiola and Klopp in their roles.

Guardiola has been in the job seven years and 98 days when he takes his City side to Arsenal on Sunday, for what will be his 426th game in charge of the club. That is more than the 408 matches he managed combined during spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich and only Les McDowall has managed more games for the Blues, taking charge of 592 fixtures during his 13 years in charge from 1950 to 1963.

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Such longevity is unusual in the modern game and Guardiola admits he has often wondered how his players have never got sick of him during his trophy-laden years in Manchester.

“It’s a good question for the players. I am asking this question many, many times for myself," he said.

"‘Oh again, this guy is shouting at me and saying something again and again and again…’ That is why sometimes you have to refresh the squad, the players or move the manager.

"It’s an honour to be the second-longest serving manager right now behind Jurgen. That means we have done really, really well because the big clubs don’t wait."

Guardiola has regularly criticised the game's governing bodies for failing their duty of care to the players by creating an even more demanding schedule of games, with City's participation in the 32-team