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The City boss confessed experiencing "embarrassment" following a confrontation with a camera operator in the wake of Manchester City's loss away to the Magpies on Saturday.

At full time, a visibly upset Guardiola entered the St James’ Park pitch and had heated discussions with the referee, Sam Barrott and Magpies midfielder Bruno Guimarães, while also handling the headphones of the camera operator.

"I said sorry," the manager remarked. "I'm humiliated, regretful, looking back. It's not acceptable. I apologised after one second to the cameraman. I am who I am. With a thousand matches under my belt I’m not a perfect person, errors happen."

"What is for sure, I defend any team and my club, without a doubt. The reason why I want to defend my team is clear – because from my experience to win the Premier League we have to do 100 points, high nineties, otherwise we don’t win it."

Team Standing and Guardiola's Assessment

The team sits in third and trail leaders Arsenal by seven points following their fourth loss this campaign. "Losing four games out of 12 we have to improve a lot," he conceded. "Technically, we can still achieve all."

When questioned about a potential quadruple was a realistic aim, he responded: "You are an experienced journalist, did you hear my talk about the quadruple in December during our historic run? Never."

Exchange with Bruno

On the subject of his talk with the Newcastle player, Guardiola said: "I've known him for many years and every time after the game, even at the Etihad, we converse. We often meet and I always have a good relationship. I enjoy it. I’m an emotional guy, I love to talk and gesticulate."

He wouldn't mind if an opposition manager addressed his squad right after the final whistle. "No - as long as it's respectful as I do, it's fine," he said, before referencing Barrott. "The referee was involved throughout the match, constantly. My God, he was involved."

Debatable Calls

The team felt aggrieved that Barrott or the VAR denied a spot-kick on a Schär tackle against Foden, while they also questioned Bruno's positioning when Harvey Barnes scored Newcastle’s 70th-minute winner. Subsequent images show he was level.

Next Big Match

He will manage his century in Europe against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. "It’s quite good, it means that every season annually," he commented.

City have 10 points from four matches of the league phase, while Leverkusen have five.