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Pep Guardiola put himself through a video nasty on Thursday, when he rewatched Manchester City's 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last December. It was the nightmare before Christmas for the Blues, extending a dismal run of form that derailed their season, but as they prepare to head back down the M6, things are looking a lot brighter. City are nine games unbeaten, well placed to progress in the Champions League and firmly back in the Premier League title race, but the foundations for their renewed optimism were laid in the second half of last season. Guardiola didn't recognise the team he watched succumb at Villa Park in the week, but this version is beginning to remind him of the most successful sides he has built during a trophy-laden decade at the Etihad. "I saw the game yesterday, we didn’t have energy, we didn’t deserve [anything]," said Guardiola. "Always I want my team to deserve what they achieve. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, sometimes you play better and don’t win. That’s football. "It was a reality that we had to do better but I’m pretty sure we will do better on Sunday. We are another team, we are a team like nine years ago, eight years ago, seven, six, five, four, three, two one. We are a team that can do good things." Guardiola said his side were a "mess" when they travelled to Villa Park last season, worn down by an unrelenting injury crisis and a dreadful run of results that had seen them win one of their previous 11 games in all competitions. He didn't have enough players available to fill the bench and was forcing players out of form and out of energy to play every three days, while admitting some struggled for motivation after winning four titles in a row. "One of the problems last season, when we were in that position, is the competition between each other," he said. "The players had no energy. Okay, you have no energy? We’ll play three, four or five new players because they have energy and want to play, but last season that could not happen. "Some of them who won four Premier Leagues in a row [thought], “Okay, what’s next?” and didn’t have it. How many games did we play really good in the beginning, get to 65 minutes and the players became tired and then sad and disappointed for the result again? "But three days later I had to use the same players because we didn’t have other options because they were on the massage table or in the hospital." Guardiola spoke to his players not long after that Villa Park defeat and told them they had to take a step in the right direction. Buoyed by four new arrivals in January, they ended the season strongly. "If we’d given up then we would have finished 10th. In this league? Finish 10th," said Guardiola. "We finished third and not much away from Arsenal, who were really good. I said don’t give up, stay there, and we’ll be proud. "The players came to me a month ago and said, “Pep we don’t want to live the season like we lived last season”. They are the first. They want to perform properly. They have pride. "We were empty. Drained. For the success of the past, for the injuries, for many things. When you realise that life cannot always be perfect, and what you have to do to get better, we’ll be a good team."
