Pep Guardiola has annoyed Manchester City’s Official supporter’s club after he suggested more of them should have turned up to support his side in their FA Cup game against Fulham showing it’s not just at Arsenal where they get it badly wrong.

City’s fourth round tie against Fulham, just over four hours drive from Manchester, was also live on TV yet still managed to draw 39,223 supporters, a total beaten by only two games over the weekend.

Guardiola, however, suggested more City fans should have turned up, with capacity at the Etihad around 55k.

“I was disappointed and don’t see what Pep is trying to achieve,” Kevin Parker, general secretary of the club’s official fans’ group told the Daily Mail in their Tuesday edition. “He’s playing into the hands of the ‘emptyhad’ critics. It really peeves me.

“We feel unjustifiably criticised by other clubs, so for our manager to have a go at us as well makes it worse. I’d suggest he’s not in touch with the financial reality facing football fans.

“Pep has to accept that this is a working-class group of fans who spend a lot of their money on football, so stop beating us up about it.

“I love Pep, but this sort of thing will alienate fans who work very hard to buy tickets.”

Tickets for this game were priced between £10 and £35 for fans which doesn’t seem a lot until you add it on top of the expense of following City around England in the League, Europe in the Champions League and that they also have a semi-final second leg against Manchester United to contend with this week.