Guardiola has to deliver the goods

SYMPATHY will be in short supply for Pep Guardiola if he can’t turn Manchester City into title-winners this season.

After only finishing third in his debut campaign in England, the response from the club has been emphatic – spend, spend, spend.

The bottomless pit of the owners’ pockets has once again been used this summer to try to rectify City’s shortcomings.

Guardiola has lavished more than £200m in an attempt to crack the Premier League.

The biggest turnaround has been at full-back, an area that was a weakness over the last 18 months.

All four players used there last season were over 30. Three of them did not have their contracts renewed and Aleksandar Kolarov was sold to Roma.

In their place have come three new arrivals at a huge cost of around £133m.

Kyle Walker was signed from Tottenham for a world record fee for a defender of £54m, Benjamin Mendy was brought in from Monaco for £52m and Danilo arrived from Real Madrid for the small matter of £27m.

These are eye-watering amounts, but as Dani Alves and Philipp Lahm showed at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, players in that position can be hugely influential in a Guardiola team.

The other spot that had to be resolved was in goal.

Claudio Bravo was out of his depth last season. Matches like the 4-0 defeat at Everton, during which he conceded from every effort on target, made him a figure of fun.

Step forward, at a cost of £34m, Ederson Moraes. The Brazilian comes in from Benfica, but after Bravo, City fans will reserve judgment.

Just for good measure, the Portuguese playmaker Bernardo Silva was signed from Monaco for £43m, but the consensus is that he is the long-term replacement for Spanish namesake, David.

City continue to be linked with Alexis Sanchez and Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe as they try to boost their forward line.

However, they already have great options in attack led by Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus.

Whether Sanchez or Mbappe arrives, scoring goals should not be a problem. It’s at the other end where City have to buck up their ideas.

Keeping Vincent Kompany fit will be key. When he’s around, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi look good.

When he is absent, the others struggle and the whole team looks vulnerable, regardless of who’s up front.

If City get it right, they could be unstoppable and win the title. If not, Guardiola’s reputation as a manager will come sharply into focus.