Guardiola believes Solskjaer doesn't need to change but has to accept critism

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not need to change but has to accept that he will get criticism, according to Pep Guardiola.

The two managers will go up against each other for a third time when Manchester City head to Manchester United in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday, and the Reds coach goes into the game having reacted furiously to a critique of his management style.

Robin van Persie took issue with Solskjaer smiling in an interview after seeing his team beaten 2-0 in a limp performance and suggested that he wanted to see him angrier. That, funnily enough, drew the ire of the United manager who blasted back that the former striker "probably doesn't have a right to criticise my management style" and said he would not be paying any attention "because I'm not in medieval times".

Guardiola, who still remembers criticism of him from his first year in coaching, laughed at the idea that it is frustrating to be criticised by people outside of the club as he pointed out that the coach of any top side must put up with it.

"When you are sitting here everyone talks, you are the first, everyone talks," he said. "It's normal, Ole knows that. We cannot complain about that.

"If you don't want to accept that, you cannot be a manager, you have to do another job. He knows. We are exposed with every decision we take and we have to accept it, good or bad."

However, a man whose feud with Jose Mourinho never carried over into Manchester sees no issue whatsoever with how Solskjaer conducted himself. While Sir Alex Ferguson may not have needed an excuse to show anger in an interview, Guardiola has regularly warned against coaches or teams blindly copying an idea or approach simply because it has had success before.

"Every manager is in front of the press conference, in front of the players the way they are. Normally you have the tendency to imitate the other managers who have had success. We never want to imitate a manager who doesn't have success," he said.

"Ole is who he is, if he wants to smile, it's perfect, if he wants to conduct the team in that way, why should he change? Everyone is everyone. Some are more expressive, others are calm, others shout more on the touchline, others sit.

"Who is the better? The guy who wins the last weekend. That is the best manager."