In Pep, they trust
CEO of Mundipharma, a healthcare partner of Man City, is confident Guardiola will achieve success next season
His arrival was meant to usher in a new era for Manchester City.
Much was expected of Pep Guardiola when the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager caved in to City's three-year pursuit and replaced Manuel Pellegrini at the Etihad Stadium last July.
After all, the Spaniard had won 14 trophies in four seasons with Barcelona, making him the most successful coach in the Catalans' history.
However, after a bright start to the season, City failed to win any trophy and had to wait till the final day of the term to seal third spot with a 5-0 thrashing of Watford on Sunday.
City also crashed out of the Champions League at the Round-of-16 stage, losing to French side Monaco.
Despite qualifying for their sixth consecutive Champions League, Guardiola's first season in charge can hardly be qualified as a success.
But, Raman Singh, CEO of healthcare organisation Mundipharma, whose BETADINE range is the official healthcare product partner for Man City, is backing Guardiola to get things right in his second season.
Yesterday, Mundipharma and Man City announced the first BETADINE Youth Football Development Programme in Singapore, which will see 32 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 15 take part in coaching sessions conducted by City Football Schools' coaches from June 19 to 24.
"I'm expecting a turnaround (next season). Players are going to leave, new players are going to come," said Singh.
"Man City have probably the best name in football in Pep Guardiola to coach the team.
"We focus on these individual stars, but they need to work together to win the championship."
The 46-year-old Singh believes the City owners will give Guardiola the financial backing to build a squad capable of challenging for EPL and continental glory next season.
He said: "The Citizens had a strong start and finish. Somewhere in between, things went wrong.
"It was a transformation since the Abu Dhabi Investment Fund bought the club.
"What they are not short of is resources - be it financial resources, having the right infrastructure, or having the right coach.
"Guardiola will try to move away from a team of stars and form a real team who will win trophies."
UNRIVALLED RECORD
Damian Willoughby, senior vice-president of partnerships for City Football Group, who was also present at yesterday's press conference at Asia Square, is also confident Guardiola will achieve success in his second season.
He said: "We're delighted to have secured Champions League football for another year, although we wanted to end the season with some silverware.
"It's disappointing we weren't able to add to our collection of silverware this season.
"In Guardiola, we have one of the brightest minds and best coaches in world football.
"His record is unrivalled and we have great players at our disposal, so it's disappointing for the club not to win because our ambition and goal are always to win trophies."
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