Pep’s £45m full-back is looking like world-beater

® City boss is delighted with the way that the defender is spotting his own mistakes and correcting them straight away.

He pointed to an incident during last month’s 3-1 win over Arsenal, when Walker was caught out of position and knew straight away what he had to do to sort out the problem.

Guardiola said: “Sometimes you make a mistake and don’t realise. But when you know immediately what you have to do, that’s not a problem.”

City are chasing a 16th straight Premier League win today but even if they achieve it, the players can expect their performances to be picked apart by their perfectionist boss.

He claims it is more important to criticise his players when they win, because he believes they will be in a better mood to take in what he is saying. “We try not just to think that if we win, that’s good and it’s enough, and if we lose it’s bad,” he added.

“That, I think, is a big mistake. You have to develop more by talking about the bad things when you win.

“Because after that, the players don’t believe that it’s just a complaint or a regret.

Better

“It’s saying, ‘OK, we can still do better’. They are more open. That is when you have to work the most, when you win.

“When you lose, you have to work more on their confidence, and say, ‘That is part of the game you can do better’.”

Guardiola, meanwhile, has hit back at Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho’s claim that City commit a lot of tactical fouls to stop opponents counter-attacking.

Mourinho made his comments before last Sunday’s Manchester derby, which City won 2-1.

Guardiola said: “I don’t know how many fouls we make on the pitch. I don’t know. But I think when we have 70 per cent possession, we are not that team (that commits tactical fouls).

“It can happen. But when we have the ball, we kick each other? I think that doesn’t happen in football.

“I never, never, never, never sent a message like that to my players.

“You can ask the players, these players and the old ones, if my message on the pitch was to commit fouls. I don’t use this kind of message.

“Of course we commit fouls. Of course we do that. We are not saints. Sometimes, when tripping, you commit a foul and get a yellow card.

“That’s football. But having a high average of keeping the ball, that is what we try to do.”