Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola ordered his players to clear their minds following their shocking collapse in the derby against Manchester United.
The champions were left stunned after a 2-1 loss at the Etihad last weekend, meaning they have only one win in their last 11 games across all competitions.
Concerned about the impact of this poor run on his team's morale, Guardiola sent them home with instructions to switch off completely from football.
Speaking ahead of their match away at Aston Villa tomorrow, Guardiola said: "I thought it was better than seeing each other. I told them to go home, be with your families. Forget football. We have three days to prepare for Villa.
"Sometimes it’s good, it’s not about the training. Now everything is in our minds, in our heads. How you deal with that is the secret. Everything is in our mind."
Adding to Guardiola's woes, star defender Ruben Dias will be out for up to a month due to injury.
Guardiola has revealed the centre back could have made the injury worse after he refused to leave the field despite feeling a muscle strain during the second half of the derby.
Guardiola, who might also be without goalkeeper Ederson, revealed: "It's a muscular problem and he (Dias) will be out for three to four weeks.
"It happened after 75 minutes against (Manchester) United. He felt something, but he's so strong he wanted to stay on the pitch - and now he's injured.
"Manu and John are back in training the last few days, so that's good for us. I don't know yet (if they will be available). Thursday was their first proper training session after being out for a while. We will see."
Guardiola admits the team are in desperate need of a win to lift their spirits, but insists the group isn't sulking.
"I've said that to survive, try to get some results and our mood will lift, our game will be better. Accept the situation - that's what I want to transmit to the team.
"Don't think about big targets. We're in the situation and have to accept it. We're not at our best and not fine - but we will be better."
