Says Sterling

my position, I need to be scoring goals more regularly.

“Pep has been massive for me. He tries to get you to do the simple stuff at the top level and that’s the real genius thing about him. He makes sure you do the simple things and it works.

“I need to continue to focus on getting in the goalscoring areas. That’s the most important thing for me, trying to get inside the box, because that’s where the majority of my goals come from.

“I just see the game and try to get on the end of stuff. With the players we’ve got in the team, you know there’s always going to be a chance that falls to you. Then it’s down to you to take that chance.

“I’m always building and trying to improve on the year before. I just need to make sure I’m getting in the box and I’m hoping to get into double figures this year.”

It has taken a year for the City players to translate Guardiola’s training-ground demands onto the pitch on a consistent basis, but Sterling says the former Barcelona coach’s philosophy has never wavered.

“There’s been no real difference this season,” he added. “Everyone in the team knows their role and the most important thing is to keep things simple. We’ve been doing that a lot better and it’s been really beneficial.

“He gives you a set plan and that’s what you try to do. But sometimes things have to come from you, off the cuff, to try to win games.”

City have scored 37 goals in their 11 competitive games so far with Guardiola hailing their 7-2 crushing of Stoke on Saturday as their best performance since he took charge. Not surprisingly, Sterling says playing the Pep way is a pleasure.

“It’s really enjoyable,” he said. “We’re defending with the ball, we’re not just defending without it. When we have the ball, we’re defending at the same time.

“It’s a great team to be involved in. There are always chances to score. We’ve been improving game after game but it’s still early days. We need to continue at this level.”

Apart from working on being more clinical, Sterling says he has made a big change off the pitch – by not reading critical comments on social media.

“I always used to be on Instagram,” he said. “You would see stuff pop up on your Explorer page and you would check it out, because you didn’t know any better.

“I’ve realised that the best thing to do is not to look at it. Don’t look at it and it won’t affect you.”