Guardiola: I'm '100%' staying at Manchester City

Pep Guardiola is adamant he'll be coaching Manchester City next season.

"I'm staying unless they sack me - 100% unless they don't like it," he said on Friday, according to Agence France-Presse. "I've said it many times. Not because we won the last two games, I'm sorry, I'm going to stay."

Guardiola has faced an inquisition over his future at the club, particularly with City falling 14 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race. In December, he denied having a secret clause in his contract that allows him to leave before it expires in June 2021. On other occasions, he's expressed a desire to extend it.

On Friday, the Spaniard, who turns 49 on Saturday, once again made it clear that he wants to continue managing the same players.

"I enjoy working with them, I like it. But even if it was going bad I'm not going anywhere," he added. "No manager wins all the time, we've lost some games so what can we do to get better? It's simple."

City can temporarily cut Liverpool's lead to 11 points with a win against Crystal Palace on Saturday, but the Reds' unbeatable form has punctured Guardiola's enthusiasm about a potential comeback.

"We are far away, they are unstoppable in those terms," Guardiola said. "We've dropped points, we conceded and didn't win games.

"This game is about the results and I'm glad we continue to attack quite well but the reality is the reality. They've won 20 of 21 games and they'd be leading all the leagues around the world."