He said: "The situation is a little bit different. In my first year, the club never doubted me. It was never in the media that I'd be sacked if they lose this game or the other game. It never happened.

"Sometimes the situation is difficult and it needs time. The first season with Maurizio is the same. You need time but the people supported me here.

"The players knew who was the manager and everybody is in the right situation. After that you can win or lose but it is stable. That is the best way to build something for a long time, not just a short period."

Guardiola responded to finishing third in the Premier League in a disappointing first campaign at City by winning the title by a record margin and claiming the Carabao Cup last year.

Sarri got off to a promising start this season, his first at Chelsea, but with the campaign unravelling in recent weeks the Italian is now under heavy pressure.

It is a familiar story, with Chelsea having changed managers 12 times since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

Guardiola said: "I was surprised that when (Antonio) Conte won the title and they lost one or two games at the beginning of the (next) season, people started to say he was going to be sacked.

"I said, 'Wow, but two or three months ago they won the Premier League'.

"But my opinion of Sarri and his teams is always high. When we reviewed the game against us, maybe people don't believe me but they did incredible things."

City face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday, just a fortnight after thrashing the Londoners 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium – one of the games which intensified speculation over Sarri's position.

Guardiola insists that result matters little now and is even wary of a Chelsea backlash.

He said: "In that moment I was so happy to beat them 6-0 but in this moment I have would preferred not to have beaten them 6-0.

"I don't like to play in a short period of time when you've beaten the team once before. They are incredible professional players, they are proud, they will do extra. When we lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge we could not accept defeat at home.

"But it is what it is. We are going to prepare mentally as well as possible, play the final, play the type of game you need to play in a final and try to win."

While City are at Wembley, their chief title rivals Liverpool will be playing Manchester United in a crucial Premier League game at Old Trafford.

Guardiola said: "I think for that game we will be in the stadium, preparing, changing socks, pants, T-shirts, warming up, underwear. We will be getting ready to play the game. We won't have time to look at that game."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Andy Hampson, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'e2d8b673-a8da-45d8-9047-6bdf89451cd7');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Guardiola questions Chelsea\u2019s lack of stability'});