Kevin Parker, the general secretary of City’s official supporters’ club, feels the manager has inflamed the situation.
“It did surprise me,” Parker said. “I’m not sure what that’s got to do with him. He doesn’t understand the difficulties that some people might have getting to a game at the Etihad on a Wednesday evening at 8pm. They’ve got kids to think of, they might not be able to afford it, there are still some Covid issues about … I don’t see why he comments on it.
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He’s absolutely the best coach in the world but, in the nicest possible way, I think maybe he should stick to that. It just takes the edge off what was a good night. People are talking more about Pep’s comments than a fantastic game.
“To question the support, which is effectively what he is doing, is disappointing and uncalled for. It does also play into the hands of supporters from other teams who want to take every opportunity to have a go at City for what they think are the poor attendances.
“People refer to the Etihad as the ‘Emptyhad’. It’s a little bit of fun by the opposition supporters but there’s no justification for it. Our attendances are generally excellent.”
Adding to Parker’s frustration is that he would have expected a big crowd for the Premier League fixture on Saturday anyway.
“Of course he would want a full house but I don’t know why he would question whether we’d have one against Southampton on Saturday,” he said. “It is a different scenario".