Manchester City face Huddersfield on Sunday, live on Sky Sports
Sunday 20 January 2019 16:54, UK
Pep Guardiola says he "understands perfectly" why David Wagner left Huddersfield.
Wagner ended a three-year spell in charge of the club on Monday, saying he needed a "break from the rigours of football management".
Huddersfield have struggled this season, with a run of nine Premier League games without a win leaving them with just 11 points from 22 games.
Ahead of Sunday's clash, live on Sky Sports, Guardiola said: "There are a lot of things on our shoulders as managers. I can understand him perfectly.
"Every manager feels tired during the season. I didn't speak with Wagner but I can imagine; you start the season and you know how difficult it will be. What he has done, him and his group, promoted into the Premier League, staying in the Premier League, but knowing every season is difficult and every season it's getting tougher.
"I am sure he kept trying to find new solutions and we feel a lot of pressure."
Guardiola himself left Barcelona in 2012 as he said he needed to "recharge his batteries" following four years in charge.
He then took a year out before joining Bayern Munich in 2013.
"Four seasons at a big club is not easy to maintain," he says. "You win everything and it's not enough, they are more and more hungry.
"It's a question of feeling. Of course you can stay for longer, but it's about feeling. It will happen here [at Manchester City] too.
"Always results dictate how long you stay somewhere but sometimes you breathe and need new experiences or to go to England or Germany or the national team. The best way sometimes is to take a step back and let other people come with fresh ideas and fresh minds.
"I like to change to prove myself. I would not be sitting here if I decided to stay in Barcelona, knowing the people in Manchester and living here. For that alone it is a good reason, never mind the success you can have."
City are involved in a Premier League title challenge this season and will be looking for a fourth straight top-flight win this weekend to close the gap on leaders Liverpool.
"For us it's a big challenge," says Guardiola. "We have to be there, to make them feel we are there. That is all you can do when you are behind.
"The best way is winning our games and producing through our games and the way we play, the feeling for our opponents of 'they are strong'. That is the only way."
