• Bundesliga

Pep: I won't stay where I'm not wanted

Pep Guardiola has suggested he would have no problem walking away from Bayern Munich after just one season if the club's hierarchy are not satisfied with his work.

Guardiola has been an instant hit in Munich, winning the Bundesliga trophy in record time, qualifying for the German Cup final and also guiding the team into the upcoming Champions League semi-finals where they will meet Real Madrid.

However, the patient passing style of play which the former Barcelona coach favours has not been fully welcomed by all at the Allianz Arena, with former player and manager - and now honorary president - Franz Beckenbauer recently having to back-track on comments he made about finding the team "unwatchable."

There has also been discontent after a dip in domestic form following the clinching of the title, including a 3-0 home defeat to Borussia Dortmund last weekend.

Asked about the latest criticism of his methods at a news conference on Wednesday, Guardiola told reporters that he found some of the negativity hard to take and was prepared to move on if the club wanted a change.

"I have to accept the criticism," Guardiola said. "I tell myself 'Pep, calm down'. You are here to work as well as possible, and my best talent is work, work, work. I am here to help the club, and if the club do not want me, a handshake and no problem for me."

The quotes were made in English, and mostly missed by the local German reports, while Catalan paper Mundo Deportivo picked them up but did point out that Guardiola was talking "without bitterness or tension."

Nonetheless the possibility of the former Barcelona hero becoming free again in the summer has had quite an impact in Spain. Speculation about Gerardo Martino's future has increased following Barcelona's exits from the Champions League and defeat in the Copa del Rey final, with his side four points off the top in La Liga.

Ex-Barca player and coach Johan Cruyff has also suggested that a returning Guardiola is the only person now capable of halting the club's slide.

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