Pep Guardiola reveals what recent change convinced him to sign new Man City deal and stay at the club for another two years as the Catalan admits he seriously considered leaving

Pep Guardiola admitted he intended this season to be his last at Manchester City but refused to ‘abandon’ the club after a run of four successive defeats.

Six-time Premier League winner Guardiola gave City a major boost on Thursday evening by signing a two-year extension, meaning his reign will last more than ten years.

Guardiola confirmed Mail Sport’s story in May that he was expected to leave next summer, but suggested a decisive show of commitment was needed during City’s tricky run of form to get a message across.

City were concerned that the 53-year-old would part ways and worked hard to convince him to renew, with his relationship with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak a contributing factor in the decision.

“Since the start of the season I have been thinking a lot,” Guardiola said. “I thought it (this season) would be the last.

“But given the problems we’ve had over the past month, I felt this is not the time to leave. I would have let the club down.

Guardiola suggested Man City’s four consecutive defeats convinced him to stay

He claimed he did not want to let the club down after their recent run of results

‘I felt I couldn’t leave now. It’s that simple. Maybe the four defeats were the reason why and I felt I couldn’t leave. I felt that the club still wanted me and that we are still together, so I signed.”

City have lost Premier League games at Bournemouth and Brighton, and also suffered a 4-1 defeat to new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim at Sporting. Tottenham knocked them out of the Carabao Cup.

That Guardiola has provided clarity over his future should boost a side five points behind Liverpool in the title race as they bid to take an unprecedented fifth successive crown.

City take on their north-west rivals next week after meeting Tottenham on Saturday at the start of a crucial run of games before Christmas.

The decision to extend also eases the potential problems of a managerial transfer during a hectic summer when City will compete in the Club World Cup in America.

Guardiola added: ‘Every time I sign a contract it’s ‘Okay, the last two’. And after I re-signed the contract, I said, “Okay, the last two.” Honestly, I think me and my staff deserve to be here right now. I’m not arrogant, but it’s the truth.

‘We deserve the chance, after four defeats in a row, to try to come back and turn this situation around.

‘I felt like we had to make the right decisions for the future. I like being here. I love my job. The moment I no longer have that feeling, even under contract, I will call my chairman and general manager to say that the best thing for the club at this time is that I have to leave.’

Guardiola wants to boost Man City’s squad to win an unprecedented fifth title in a row

Guardiola (pictured with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak) has won six Premier League titles

City wanted to lose both Guardiola and sporting director Txiki Begiristain, but have now taken on both roles following the appointment of Hugo Viana as his successor.

Guardiola sounded like a manager ready to oversee changes within the squad to maintain City’s status in the years to come.

“You can’t always win in football,” he said. ‘This season we have already won one (the Community Shield) and we may not win the other, but this is not the problem. The problem is what’s next, what decisions do we have to make to still be there, to still be a good team.

‘The fans have to push us to win again. Some will be as happy with it as I am, but some may think it’s enough. I know them all, they know us very well and we will never give up. We were there for the last matches. We still have to make some adjustments, but hopefully that will happen.’