Pep talk warning: I’ll
Pep Guardiola has assured his returning Manchester City players that he will be even “harder” with them this season as he attempts to become the first manager in a decade to win back-to-back Premier League titles.
After an exhausting northern summer, many of his front-line, record-breaking stars have yet to return to peak match-fitness, with Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling not due to return to training until Monday following their World Cup exploits.
They and their team-mates can expect to find their demanding Catalan manager seeking even more from them as he looks to duplicate his experience in Spain and Germany where, in each case, he won three consecutive league titles, with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
“I’ve had the situation in Barca and Bayern and we were able to repeat it and win back to back,” said Guardiola, as he prepared for the Community Shield meeting with Chelsea tomorrow (NZT).
“Maybe here it’s more complicated because of the contenders. All the teams are good. Imagine at the start of last season, saying we are going to make 100 points. So it’s the same situation — at my first press conference, saying we’re going to make 100 points — impossible. “With perspective, we’ll realise how good last season was but you have to have the target. I don’t know what hunger we have. We will see. I don’t have an answer for that but I’ll try to repeat what we have done in Barca and Bayern, to be harder with my players.” Complacency was certainly never an issue with his players last season, even with the title all but guaranteed with months remaining. City went on to set new