Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is confident he can get Manchester City back on track and says if he couldn't handle the pressure, he wouldn't be where he was.
The Citizens go into their match against Premier League leaders Liverpool in terrible form with Guardiola's side losing five of their last six matches in all competitions.
An unprecedented five-match losing run came to an end in midweek as they drew 3-3 against Feyenoord but Man City uncharacteristically managed to throw away a three-goal lead in that match.
Man City, who have won the Premier League title four years in a row, are currently eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool and face a difficult trip to Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
When asked in an interview whether turning around Man City's fortunes feels like a big burden, Guardiola said: "You cannot imagine how much I get paid! It comes with my salary. If I don't want that pressure, I resign, go home and I don't have this weight on my shoulders. All the managers have that.
"You don't want to be criticised? It's unfair? My friend, it is what it is. If you don't win, the people will laugh at you, people will take the p*** of you. Even more for the fact that we won a lot.
"If you don't want it? Go home. The players must be guided, I am responsible for that. But I want to do it. The moment I feel: don't follow me, it's over or tired? After that I'll go home."
On whether he thinks all the time about ways to solve their current issues, Guardiola added: "Definitely. It's not nice because you always have doubts afterwards. But at the end when you think a lot about what works, it comes back to the principles. You go back to the most simple thing possible.
"I had the feeling the tactics is not the big issue. When you're winning 3-0 on 75 minutes and then it's 3-3, it's not that."
Put to him that everyone is waiting for him to do something out of the ordinary like playing Kevin de Bruyne at wing-back, Guardiola continued: "If I believe that Kevin de Bruyne could be a wing-back, I would do it!
"I would praise or analyse or judge how much over-thinking I was in that moment, or how stupid I was - because I believe in that moment that was the best, because I know my players.
"Listen, I played the final of the Champions League against Chelsea without Rodri. What have you done Pep? Why didn't you play him? But do you remember how Rodri was in that moment? He was not playing bad, beyond in that moment.
"Do you think Rodri would not play now? Of course he would play. But I'm getting paid for taking those decisions. But in that moment I thought: I need these certain players, more control, more passes, Gundogan did more than him.
"So you learn from your mistakes in good or bad things. But in that, I never thought I was special because we win. Now I don't feel it's not going well or the team's not good enough. The group is exceptional, they are beyond good and they showed a few months ago they were able to do it.
"The problem, the biggest, biggest problem, looks like an excuse. When you give an argument when you're not winning, it looks like an excuse. We had a lot, a lot of important, important players injured and with that, it's more difficult.
"The reason why? The calendar for the last eight, nine years, winning everything, being in the last stages of the competition, the moment arrives where the body - not the player - the body said it's enough. I need to rest. It cannot sustain it anymore.
"Every time we won the second or the third Premier League, we fell down. When we won the treble, the next season the same. We were always there.
"This month, in November, we go down. And this month we would be better - with Ruben Dias fit, with John Stones fit. I don't think of Rodri, but with Mateo Kovacic fit, with Kevin De Bruyne fit. But fit in terms of fit. We have been a better team but it is what it is and we have to do it."
When asked if Liverpool could be the side that gets them out of their rut, Guardiola replied: "We will be back when all the players come back. We will not be back by winning at Anfield. Until those players come back, we will not be back. I'm sorry to say that.
"I would love to say we are going to win at Anfield and then 20 games. But in the situation we are in, we will not be back. The only chance we come back is if John Stones is back - he is injured and he will be a long time, if Ruben Dias has come back after one month out and everyone is a bit fit again, then we will be back. To sustain it every three days, we cannot do it.
"Now it's time to suffer. Now it's time to be there, be positive. But one result in the moment, we will not be who we are. Still we are there, we want to maintain it as long as possible.
"Of course, we're going to fight to win on Sunday. We are going to win in Anfield like we have done in all our career. But winning will not change much. The mood, five points, of course that will allow us to do that.
"But knowing the reality and the team, we cannot make targets to win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cups. It's unnecessary when in the last six games we have not been able to win one.
"So the next game is Anfield, win. And after Nottingham Forest. Then we will see what happens.
"But we have done it when we were winning the Premier Leagues when in November we said: we were there. In the year we won 100 points, even when we were away from the beginning, the other teams were there.
"We were many, many times behind Liverpool in the years we won the Premier League. Against Arsenal, always we were behind and not quite different from now. The problem is we had the squad, we had everyone more or less competing with each other. Now we don't have it.
"Now I tell my reflection: what do you ask for? Just give me the players back! All I want is that! The rest? I don't care. I would love to lose the Premier League with the players.
"If Liverpool win, I would shake their hands. If Arsenal win with Mikel Arteta, I would be so happy for him. Believe me, truly, honestly. But I don't like not competing because the players I have are injured. But it is what it is. It's life."
