Pep Guardiola quipped he has "never been relaxed" as his Manchester City side attempt to chase down Premier League leaders Arsenal.
City lost 2-1 in the Manchester derby on Saturday, paving the way for Arsenal to take an eight-point lead at the summit of the table following the Gunners' win over Tottenham.
Spurs are next up for City, who will be in third by the time Thursday's match at the Etihad Stadium takes place, should Manchester United beat Crystal Palace.
Asked if being the chaser, rather than the leader, meant City could be more relaxed, Guardiola, who celebrated his 52nd birthday on Wednesday, scoffed at the suggestion.
"Relaxed? I have never been relaxed, even if eight points in front," he said. "Before and during a game, I've never been relaxed."
Indeed, Guardiola explained he would rather be the team looking to preserve an advantage in the table than the one having to close ground.
"It's better, you can drop points and still be [ahead]. When you are behind you cannot drop points," City's manager added.
"The pressure is the next game. We're not able to think about big expectations, just win the next game. At the end the competition will dictate. If [Arsenal] are in front, they deserve it.
"Many games to play, it's how we come back. The next game is the only important thing. Win the next game, after we will see what happens.
"We have been in this position many times in the past, many times. It's not the first time we are there."
Guardiola said after the derby defeat that City must find a way to get Erling Haaland, who has netted 21 times in the league this season, more involved in their all-round play.
He refuted the idea that City are struggling to fully adapt to Haaland, however.
"We have played really good with him, so it's not about that," he said. "To create more chances, we have to provide more to him and the other strikers.
"Our fluidity has not been as good as usual. You have to be better to create chances, to open up the defensive lines. We've struggled in the last two games."
City have lost four of their last five Premier League games against Tottenham (W1), as many as they had in their previous 19 against them (W12 D3), while they have also failed to win either of their last two top-flight matches at home, losing to Brentford and drawing against struggling Everton.
Guardiola has been boosted by the return of John Stones and Ruben Dias, with the defenders available for selection.
City were on the end of a contentious decision in Saturday's loss at Old Trafford, with Bruno Fernandes' equaliser allowed to stand despite Marcus Rashford having been in an offside position and seemingly interfering with play.
Guardiola has already put it behind him, however, saying: "It's always in the past, it's not going to change anything now.
"The focus is on Tottenham, that was my message to the team two minutes after [the United game].
"We have to improve our game, control what we can control. This is what big teams have to do. It's [in] the past."
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Haaland has 'full trust' in Guardiola to halt Man City slump
Erling Haaland has "full trust" in the "best manager in the world", Pep Guardiola, to get Manchester City back on track against Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Guardiola's side have lost four matches in a row across all competitions, which is the Spaniard's longest losing run in his entire managerial career.
The Citizens last lost more consecutively between March and April 2006 under Stuart Pearce (six – the fifth game of which was also against Tottenham).
But after putting pen to paper on a new two-year contract extension at the club earlier this week, Guardiola has his eyes firmly set on returning to winning ways on home soil.
And Haaland, who has scored 105 goals in 114 appearances under Guardiola at City, believes they can make up the gap to leaders Liverpool, who are five points ahead.
"When you look at what he's been doing for the club, he's not bad, is he? So he's got my full trust," Haaland told Sky Sports.
"And if he tells me something, I'd better do it because he knows the best in the end. Everyone knows that. So I'm sure he will find solutions now as well. I'm sure of that.
"[Guardiola] demands us to be at our best in every training session, in every game. And that's what we need to do. It hasn't been good enough, losing four games now, but let's try to win the next."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
