Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insisted he has not lost his touch despite a barren first season managing in the Premier League.

Guardiola’s side lost 4-2 in extra time in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday at the hands of reigning champions Arsenal – a result which confirms that City will finish without a trophy this term.

But the Spaniard – who has won 21 major honours in Spain and Germany in a glittering managerial career thus far – has rejected talk that he cannot mix it with the best in England.

And Guardiola is adamant that his reputation has not been tarnished by a trophy-less first season in Manchester, insisting he has learned some valuable lessons along the way.

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“I am not a worse manager because I didn’t win the title,” said Guardiola, whose side are still in contention to finish in the top four.

“I feel as though I’m a better manager than before because I learned a lot and am more experienced. I’ve learned to handle situations better than before.

“I am expecting to have a long career as a manager and it will happen again one year (not winning the title). I am not at a club who have won a lot of titles like Barcelona, Bayern, Madrid, Inter, Juventus or AC Milan.”

Teamwork holds the key to improving a fairly average defensive record for Liverpool in the final weeks of the season – that’s according to centre-back Ragnar Klavan.

No team has scored more than Liverpool’s 70 Premier League goals this term, but their 42 goals conceded is the most of any top-seven outfit.

That includes just two clean sheets in 15 top-flight games in 2017, a record Klavan admits need improving as the Reds seek to cement a top-four spot.

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But the 31-year-old Estonian knows the cure for the those woes – sticking together as a defensive unit.

“It’s not easy to put down to a couple of things, but we have to work together as a team,” said Klavan.

“That’s our goal, of course, to not concede any goals in any game, but this is football and everybody has good strikers as well. It’s not so easy to pinpoint exactly what is going on.

“I think it’s not just one thing, there are multiple things put together that make the whole difference.

“At this level, it can be one moment, just a lack of concentration, and that’s it. In this harsh league, those things get punished straight away and that’s how it is when you play at the highest level.”

Eddie Howe admits he has sympathy for Bournemouth winger Max Gradel, and understands his frustrations at not getting regular football on the south coast.

The Ivorian has yet to even start a Premier League game so far this season, coming on nine times as a substitute having switched from Saint-Etienne in 2015.

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Luck has not been on Gradel’s side ever since moving to the Vitality Stadium, injury-prone in his first season prior to making do with fleeting appearances.

But manager Howe insists he is aware it is a difficult time for the 29-year-old, full of praise for the player for maintaining his work ethic.

“When you have a squad off 22 or 23 players, you can do the maths. You will have players who aren’t playing. They are paid to play, their job is to play, so it is difficult for them,” he said.

“It is about controlling those emotions and there will always be reasons why you are not playing.

“You have to understand what they are, then go onto the training ground to work on those and make yourself better.

“That is how we try to work with the players: we are honest in our communication with them, then put them to work to try to improve those areas.

“Max has been brilliant, he really has. His attitude has not changed. He is still a very enthusiastic and popular member of the squad. He has a great attitude to his work and we will sit down in the summer and have a talk.”

Eden Hazard may have enjoyed his most prolific Premier League season to date in a Chelsea shirt, but the 26-year-old playmaker insists he is not bothered by the number of goals next to his name in the record books.

The Belgian notched up his 15th league goal of the season on Tuesday, opening the scoring in the Blues’ 4-2 home victory over Southampton, which piled the pressure back on Spurs ahead of their Wednesday evening trip to Crystal Palace.

That means that with a handful of games still remaining, Hazard has topped his tally of 14 Premier League strikes from both the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons – when he won the PFA Young Player of the Year and then the PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards.

But Hazard, now in his fifth season at Stamford Bridge but a target for Real Madrid in the summer, is adamant he only wants to help Chelsea to the league title.

“I don’t care about the number of goals I get,” he said. “Statistics aren’t important for me.

“If my goals help my team win games; that’s important. I just want to take the trophy at the end of the season. If I can score a few more goals this season, that would be good.

“I am happy with what I am doing on the pitch, with my movement and everything. I said a few weeks ago there are many similarities with what I did two years ago in the title-winning year.

“Southampton was a difficult match, like so many in the Premier League. It’s always good to play before Tottenham so we put pressure on them.

“We had a chance to score a goal at the end of the first half and we managed to do it.

“We were able to control the match from the start of the second half, but they continued to try to push forward and that gave us a bit of space in behind. In the end, we are happy.”

Despite suffering 4-2 defeat against Premier League leaders Chelsea on Tuesday night, midfielder Oriol Romeu believes there is plenty for Southampton to build on.

The Saints were outgunned at Stamford Bridge after Romeu, against his former club, had cancelled out Eden Hazard’s early opener, as Chelsea displayed their title-winning credentials.

The match was long over as a contest by the time Ryan Bertrand also struck on his old stomping ground for a late consolation, but a second goal was the least Southampton deserved for their efforts.

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Next up for them is a home match against Hull City, as they look to ensure they finish in the top half of the table for the fourth season running.

Romeu said: “There are things we did against Chelsea that we need to do again on the weekend.

“We were brave with the ball and we played a good match – that’s what we need to focus on and make sure we do again.

“We need to get those three points because they will be very important. We need to start winning games and thinking of getting as high in the table as possible.”

Romeu was also happy to be back after scoring on what was his return from a two-match suspension.

“I always want to play and I always want to help the team and give the best account of myself,” he added. “So it was enjoyable to be back out there again but sadly we couldn’t win.”

Reported Watford target Sofyan Amrabat has admitted he would be tempted to play alongside his older brother, Hornets midfielder Nordin, should he move to England.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season in Dutch football with FC Utrecht and made his international debut for Morocco against Tunisia in March.

With a price tag of around £4 million placed on him, Amrabat has allegedly been attracting attention from several Premier League clubs, including Watford, Stoke City and Crystal Palace.

If he were to sign for the Hornets, he would share a field for the first time with his elder sibling, who arrived at Vicarage Road himself from Malaga in January last year.

When asked about the prospect of playing alongside Nordin, Amrabat said: “That would be very nice, but we have not discussed it yet.

 (Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)

“Of course you are flattered when you get linked with a Premier League club. That’s a compliment and says I’m doing well. But there is still nothing concrete. I’m going only think about it when it is relevant.

“The Premier League is a competition where I could play. In terms of style of play it would fit well with me.

“Sure Germany and Spain are also beautiful. If you want to reach the top, and I want to, you should be able to play anywhere and against anyone.

“An intermediate step would be logical or even ideal, but I’m working with FC Utrecht. We want to win the play-offs and then I’ll look further.”

Robbie Brady insists fans will see the best of Burnley between now and the end of the season.

The Clarets are looking to guarantee their survival in the top flight in the last four games of the Premier League campaign.

They currently sit five points clear of the bottom three but have only won once in their last 11 games in the league.

Brady joined in January for £13m from Norwich in the January transfer window and scored a fine free-kick on his home debut against Chelsea.

Since then his form has dipped, as has that of the Clarets in general, but Brady is confident that there is life in Sean Dyche’s side for the season run in.

“I was playing in the Championship at the start of the season when there’s games every couple of days so I felt fit coming in,” the 25-year-old said.

“The way they do things here is very good on the fitness side of things so the lads have plenty in the tank and a lot more to come between now and the end of the season.

“I’m settling in well. These things take time, just getting to know how the lads play.

“I was disappointed with the first few games. When you first come in you want to do your best and give your best but sometimes that doesn’t go.

“That was the case for me. I found it difficult in the first few weeks showing what I was all about.

(Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)

“But as the weeks have gone on I have settled in, I feel more relaxed and I am enjoying my football.

“I think you’ll find most of the lads are their own worst critic.

“You want to do well and things weren’t going as well as I thought they could.

“I was happy with the goal (against Chelsea). I haven’t got one since then but hopefully I will get a couple more before the end of the season.”

West Bromwich Albion captain Darren Fletcher is puzzled as to why the goals have dried up for his side in recent weeks, as they look to prevent their season from fizzling out.

The Baggies will be looking to end a barren run of four games without a goal when they welcome Leicester City to The Hawthorns on Saturday, following a two-week break.

Despite their wobble, West Brom are still eighth in the Premier League with five games to go and they would equal their highest-ever finish in the division if they were to remain there.

But with a multitude of clubs building up behind them in the table, Fletcher knows it is important for them to rediscover their goalscoring touch in the weeks ahead.

Fletcher said: “It’s been a funny one. It’s hard to put your finger on. You can only keep going out there and doing it.

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“Sometimes confidence goes really quickly, although we’re having a great season, it’s amazing how we’ve been waiting for a ‘down-patch’ all season but it didn’t really come.

“Maybe this is just us having a little bit of a down period and people will coincide that with safety and 40 points and all that.

“Maybe a little bit of confidence has been lost. The effort’s there, the commitment’s there, there’s no doubt about that, it’s just not happening for us.

“We just need one to go in out of nothing and that will set us on our way.”

Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is expecting Everton to splash the cash this summer.

In January, the 27-year-old moved to Goodison Park following an unsuccessful spell with Manchester United for a fee potentially rising to £24 million, the second most expensive signing the Toffees have made since Farhad Moshiri became the club’s majority shareholder in February 2016.

Everton have also dug into their pockets for the likes of Yannick Bolasie, Ashley Williams, Idrissa Gueye and Ademola Lookman since Moshiri’s investment and with chief executive Robert Elston last week predicting a “busy and exciting summer with big investments”, Schneiderlin wouldn’t be surprised to be joined on Merseyside by more big-money recruits.

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“There is a lot of speculation about people signing new contracts and everything,” said the Frenchman.

“But I know, when I came to this football club, that they have a great vision for the future – they want to bring some great players to the club to push forward.

“I don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes but I can tell you I think they are doing their best to keep their players and bring new players in to push us forward next year.

“We need a good squad with great players to be able to push in all competitions.”

West Ham defender James Collins maintained that he is looking up the Premier League table rather than down it after the Hammers took five points from their last three games.

The latest of those was earned in a 0-0 draw with Everton at the weekend in an impressive defensive display, which has been typical of their performances of late.

The Hammers take on Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday and would climb above the Potters should they earn a win against Mark Hughes’ men, who have won just once since March 4.

And the 33-year-old Welshman – whose side sit seven points clear of the relegation zone – believes a strong finish to the season is vital to West Ham’s development next term.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“We want to finish as strong as possible,” said Collins.

“I’ve been in the game a long time now and I know if you finish the season well, you can move onto the next season and look to continue that form, so that’s what we’re looking to do.

“It’s been a tricky season on and off the pitch, for the manager and for the boys getting used to new surroundings, but it’s about finishing strong and looking forward to next season.”