Pep Guardiola has said that despite winning five Premier League titles, the Champions League, and a treble in his seven years at the Etihad Stadium, he has not adequately trained his Manchester City players.

And, because the fixture slate is so full, the Catalan said it is hard to work with his players on the training pitch right now without risking harming them.

Guardiola said City are instead learning from their mistakes after revealing they only worked on the pitches at the Etihad Campus for 20 or 25 minutes to prepare for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, and they had a shorter pre-season than everyone else to give players time off after winning two finals in June.

“I haven’t trained in seven years,” he explained. “No more than 35 minutes.” We don’t practice. They began preseason 15 days ago… do you know what 15 days is? We competed in both the FA Cup and the Champions League finals. They have another 15 days with the new players. We did not complete a single day of tactical [work]. We train the day before… I’m sure Jurgen [Klopp, Liverpool manager] does as well. We played 10-15 minutes on the ball and ten minutes on defense.”

City’s next Champions League opponent is RB Leipzig, and Guardiola is concerned that if he tries to work with his players, he may lose others. Midfielders Kevin de Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic, and Matheus Nunes are all injured, while the unwell Jack Grealish was also unable to play against Liverpool, as he only named six outfield substitutes.

“Before Tuesday it will be 10 minutes on the pitch, moving in that way,” he said. “We can’t practice. We don’t have players for the next game if we don’t practice. We don’t have any. That is why we must learn from history: simply grasp what you must accomplish. Who jumps? The press. This is what we rely on.”

Guardiola said that his players received his message from his good looks rather than time on the training field.

“Because I’m extremely talented.” “I’m a handsome man, and I seduce them,” he said with a smile. “No, we have the TV images today, and we talk individually.” I discussed what happened at Chelsea [in the 4-4 tie] with Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker. They may make mistakes, but they will learn from them. They lose the ball if they drop it. However, it is about where and when you move, as well as the spaces. Today [Saturday] was fantastic. “I know exactly what I’m talking about.”

On Saturday, John Stones was an unused substitute, and Guardiola stated that the defender needs more time before returning to the starting lineup, or he may break down again.

“He feels good,” he said, “but we want to give him one or two weeks to do proper strength training sessions.” John is so essential to us that I prefer him to play only when he is entirely prepared. He’ll train with us, either partially or entirely. His legs, in particular, must ensure that when he returns, he is stronger. And then we use him because we require him.”