Pep Guardiola slams Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher in a six-and-half-minute monologue defending his Man City side after ‘complacency’ claims

Pep Guardiola launched into an extraordinary six-and-a-half-minute monologue on Tuesday, defending his Manchester City players, claiming they will make history this season and leveling accusations of complacency.

City visit Aston Villa on Wednesday after scoring eight goals in three straight draws – their worst run in the Premier League since 2017. They go to Villa without the suspended Rodri and Jack Grealish, and their shining light this season is Jeremy Doku missing injury. It means Guardiola has to adjust his midfield for one of the toughest away games of the season.

Despite this, recent performances have convinced the Catalan to declare they will win an unprecedented fourth consecutive league title.

And the fired-up City boss, who has delved into criticism of his team since Sunday's dramatic 3-3 draw with Tottenham, was happy to take aim at three Sky Sports pundits, former City defender Micah Richards, Jamie Carragher and, above all, Gary. Neville, who suggested they are suffering from complacency after last year's Treble.

“Gary Neville knows how difficult it is, otherwise he would have won four Premier Leagues in Manchester United's best period,” Guardiola said. 'But he didn't do it. Maybe they accuse us of complacency because they felt complacency (at United). Maybe they felt it. This team has no chance so far.

Pep Guardiola launched an astonishing six-and-a-half-minute defense of his Man City stars

City were accused of complacency after their third straight draw against Spurs

Guardiola hit out at Gary Neville, saying he had not won four titles because United were complacent

“Jamie Carragher hasn't won one (title). Micah Richards didn't win four Premier Leagues in a row. Never. It never happened.

'To be honest, I have nothing to say about the experts. That's not what it's about (complacency). Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think it's about complacency.

'I know the players, I know how they run. The way we behave is extraordinary. I feel if we maintain that level we will win the Premier League. We will win it again.

“The way we did it doesn't give me the feeling that we're saying, 'Look how good we are,' or that we're playing a bit naively or playing as if we don't respect the opponents. Not at all.'

City drew 4-4 with Chelsea in one of the greatest encounters of all time before conceding a late lead against Liverpool last month. In all three games, City have conceded an equalizer in the last ten minutes.

Even though they rarely concede big chances, Guardiola knows they need to improve defensively against a Villa team that has won all six of their home games this season. But he believes City's response to the incident has gone overboard.

'When you drop points, people say: 'Okay, you drop points against Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham – what a disaster.' It's Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham – what do people expect?' he asked. 'That we get 120 points and are twenty points ahead?

'I've listened to it many times in seven years. If we don't win, that's complacency. If we lose the semi-finals, we have no character.

'Of course, our behavior at times, after winning the Treble and three competitions in a row… sometimes you have to defend a cross more aggressively. It's the little details.

'But if we can maintain the level of Liverpool and Tottenham, I will sign up for it now, if we can maintain that every game. We didn't win 5-0, we drew. But I would sign right now as my team is behaving the way we have played in the last two games. Against Tottenham, the chances we had, what can I say?

'I'm pretty sure we won't win the next ten league games in a row. I'm optimistic, but not an idiot. This isn't going to happen. We are fairly stable, create more chances and concede less than our opponents. We are on track. And normally I still have the feeling – maybe I'm wrong – that we have more chances to score than the opponents.'

Guardiola then made the bold prediction that City would win the Premier League this season

Jamie Carragher (left) and Micah Richards (right) also suffered the wrath of the Spaniard

Guardiola was also asked on Sunday about his comments about Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta when he refused to criticize referee Simon Hooper for his controversial decision to blow the whistle with Grealish against Spurs in the final minute.

“I'm not going to do an Arteta,” Guardiola had said, pointing to the fact that his ex-assistant had been stripped of his position at Newcastle a few weeks ago.

Yesterday Guardiola said: 'People say: “Ah, you want to speak to Mikel”. I didn't want to speak to Mikel. It was a joke, maybe people didn't understand it. If I want to say something to Mikel, I call him, we spoke a week ago.

'Mind games? Mind games are playing better than the opponents.'