No gimme for Stones as starter
MANCHESTER CITY boss Pep Guardiola has warned John Stones that he will have to fight for his place in the champions’ defence.
Stones was a star for England at the World Cup in Russia as they reached the semi-finals.
But in the second half of last season he had a struggle to secure a regular start at City.
And there are no guarantees this time, with Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi, Aymeric Laporte and Kyle Walker all figuring last season.
“It hurts when you cannot play some of them, it hurts a lot,” said Guardiola. “One day, one of them will be a manager and realise what we feel.
“It is not comfortable, but, if you want to compete in four competitions, we cannot with just two good central defenders, we need four at the top level.
“They have to compete with each other and accept my rules – today don’t play, but tomorrow you are going to play and you have to be ready.
“It is what it is. Of course, in the Community Shield, Vincent didn’t play or Nico didn’t play. Don’t they deserve to play? Of course, they deserve to play. The same like John, the same like Aymeric.
“They don’t deserve to play when they are lazy or not committed or focused.
“When that happens, we will have a problem, but it’s not happened.”