Manchester City boss Guardiola continues to back players amid team's stunning free fall

Manchester City's beleaguered boss Pep Guardiola insists he has "incredible trust" that the results will come for his team as the champions' crisis continues to grow with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers scored to hand City a stunning ninth loss in 12 matches across all competitions. Villa climbed over Guardiola's team into fifth in the table, while City are sixth, and could plummet to as low as ninth by the end of the weekend.

City's poor run has seen them drop 24 points in the league before even reaching the halfway point of the season. They dropped 23 points in total last season.

"We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the guys," Guardiola told TNT Sports.

"Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it. We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back."

The manager gave his players two days off this week to clear their heads, saying the team's poor performance is "now all in our minds".

While they painted a picture of collective frustration at Villa Park, Guardiola said he believes they will regain their confidence "step-by-step."

"We have nice personalities in the team and sooner or later we are going to find it," he said.

City striker Erling Haaland said the team backs Guardiola, for whom this stretch is the worst in his otherwise glittering managerial career.

"He won the Premier League six times in seven years, so we will never forget that," Haaland told TNT.

"He will find the solutions. He has been doing that every single year. We still believe in him, we have to work harder than ever right now."

Haaland, who was the Premier League's top scorer for the previous two seasons, has found the back of the net just twice in their last eight league games. He pointed the finger squarely at himself on Saturday.

"First I'm looking at myself, I haven't been scoring my chances," the Norwegian said.

"I have to do better, I haven't been good enough."

Southampton name new manager

Meanwhile, relegation-threatened Southampton named Ivan Juric as manager on an 18-month contract with the job of ensuring Premier League survival after Russell Martin was sacked earlier this month.

Former Croatia midfielder Juric was previously in charge of AS Roma but was dismissed by the Serie A side in November after only 12 matches in charge following poor results.

Southampton, who have five points from 16 matches, are without a win in their last seven games in all competitions and stand seven points adrift of the safety zone.

They visit mid-table Fulham on Sunday.

"I'm very pleased. I think it's a really big challenge but I'm very optimistic because I saw a team that can do better," said Juric, whose job is subject to final work permit approval.

"It's important to immediately be connected with the fans. I want an aggressive team and I think that fans of Southampton will like that."

It will be the first time Juric has managed outside Italy.

Juric faces the difficult task of reviving Southampton's flailing side, with the club scoring 11 goals in 16 matches - the lowest in the league - while conceding 36.

- Reuters