BEAT ANYONE NOW

winning. And that is the first step to arrive at the end of a competition and to fight to win the title.”

City are unbeaten in 21 games this season and their current 19-match winning streak is an English record.

They face West Ham today before heading to Ukraine to meet Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday in a Champions League game that is meaningless to them because they have already qualified as group winners. Then, on Sunday, it’s Manchester United at Old Trafford.

It is Guardiola’s best-ever start to a season in a managerial career that saw him become a serial winner at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

And the Catalan (right) believes breaking records is good for his team’s soul.

He said: “When you achieve these types of records, then you know what the target is to break them again. It’s so important to break these little records. It doesn’t count for the title, but it counts for the way we play.

“It means that, in the good moments, we win comfortably and, in the bad moments, we keep going.

The bad news for David Moyes’ Hammers is that Guardiola will not allow his team to ease up – despite the looming derby date.

He added: “I always respect my opponent and the best way to respect West Ham is to be serious and play as well as possible.

“I cannot deny we’re in better form than West Ham.

“But we must be calm and prepare as well as possible because it’s the same three points as against United. It counts the same.