Pep Guardiola has refused to back down or apologise after calling for "more people" to attend Manchester City's clash with Southampton on Saturday.
The City boss sparked a debate over attendances when he said would like a bigger crowd at the Etihad Stadium than that of the 38,062 that watched Wednesday's Champions League victory over RB Leipzig.
Those comments went down badly with some fans who felt that, as they indirectly highlighted the number of empty seats at the 54,000-capacity arena, their loyalty was being questioned.
Away from the fans issue, Guardiola insists he has no issue with defender John Stones playing 90 minutes twice for England earlier this month.
The centre-back has not featured for City this season and is now sidelined with a muscular injury.
Guardiola said: "Gareth Southgate knows exactly what is the best for his team. He is the manager. I know they want to take care of them and do their best.
"But the reality is he came back injured. What we want is him to be fit because we need him.
"We are going to have many injuries in difficult positions with a lot of games and hopefully he can come back as soon as possible."
