CITY SPECIAL Boss is looking to heat up title finale

PEP Guardiola is looking forward to escaping the Manchester chill as City prepare for a warm-weather training break.

The Blues would obviously rather still be in the FA Cup, and so still be on course for an unprecedented quadruple.

But the silver lining from their shock defeat to Wigan is that they are without a game next weekend owing to Brighton’s quarter-final with United.

That has enabled the team to head to Abu Dhabi, as they did last season at a similar time.

They will fly there straight after the Stoke game on Monday night and return on Saturday.

Instead of having to plan training sessions around the snow, strong winds and rain that have been common in recent weeks, the players will rarely see temperatures drop below 30C next week – once they have navigated a trip to the Potteries.

As well as being able to check-in with the club hierarchy, Guardiola will be able to drill his team for the final part of the season that they will hope includes a long run in the Champions League.

“Instead of being here where we have been fighting for 10 months or eight months with the weather, we will go there and train the same way but in better conditions,” said Guardiola.

“And we will see our chairman and be there.

“We did it last season and we will prepare for the last two months of the season.” PEP Guardiola insists there will be no imminent negotiations over a new contract – but his future is high on the agenda at City.

The club’s hierarchy are eager to secure an extension to the Catalan’s three-year deal and remain confident he will commit to the Etihad for the long-term.

But serious movement is expected to have to wait until the summer when Guardiola will be prepared to address his position.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager prefers to wait until the final 12 months of his contracts before opening negotiations.

And all parties will recognise the importance of avoiding the issue dragging over into next season.

Guardiola’s abrupt response to suggestions his representative was in Manchester for talks is evidence he sees it as an unwanted distraction.

“My agent is not in town,” he said. “Was not, is not and will not be town in the next weeks.”

Sources around Guardiola are confident he will commit to a new deal – and has long seen himself at City beyond his initial three years.

A key issue for the 47-year-old is that he wanted to believe he was deserving of one. While City’s Abu Dhabi owners made it clear he had their full backing, even after a trophyless first season at the club – handing him £250m to rebuild his squad – Guardiola was determined to deliver silverware before extending his stay.

He has done that this season in the form of the Carabao Cup – but the Premier League or Champions League were the trophies he had in mind.

City are a maximum of four wins away from being crowned Premier League champions – and regardless of their fate in Europe, Guardiola will be able to sign a new deal in the summer on the back of a hugely-successful second season.

There is no sense of unease within the club regarding Guardiola’s future – even if he