Pep Guardiola aims thinly-veiled dig at Man United's poor season

Pep Guardiola took a subtle jab at Manchester United's ongoing struggles during a press conference on Friday.

With just six games remaining in the Premier League campaign, the Catalan has found himself in largely unfamiliar circumstances as Manchester City boss.

City struggled with losing key players due to injury early in the campaign and went on a historic slump throughout the winter months that saw them drop out of the title picture.

After years of dominance at the top of the table, City now face a battle throughout the run-in to secure a Champions League place for next season amid fierce competition from the chasing pack.

However, Guardiola was quick to insist that City's circumstances could be worse whilst seemingly aiming the spotlight at their cross-city rivals.

'I don't think it's a bad thing to be fighting to qualify for the Champions League,' he said ahead of City's clash with Everton.

'You could be in a very low position in the Premier League if you have done fewer good things than we have done in these four, five months. We could be 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th.'

Ruben Amorim's side currently occupy 14th place in the Premier League table following a string of bad results.

The former Sporting boss arrived in November tasked with turning United around after they slumped to their worst ever start to a season in the Premier League era under Erik ten Hag.

Despite glimpses of improvement, United have continued to fail to achieve consistency in the months since, and, unlike City, are mathematically unable to secure a Champions League place through their league position.

However, that does not necessarily mean that the club cannot compete in Europe's top club competition next season.

After a dramatic win over Lyon on Thursday, United are now potentially just 180 minutes away from a spot in the Europa League final.

Should the club be able to go on and secure the trophy for a second time that will receive an automatic berth into the Champions League league phase, an accomplishment estimated to be worth in excess of £85million.