Jack: I LOVE it when rival fans give me stick!

JACK GREALISH revealed yesterday how he embraces the abuse dished out to him by rival fans — and revels in offering retorts. The attacker was instrumental in Manchester City’s 1-0 win at Chelsea on Thursday and was jeered by the home fans, something he often encounters when City play away.

‘It’s nice, isn’t it, when the fans are giving you stick?’ Grealish said. ‘At the end of the day, it’s all banter. They give us a lot of stick, so you’ve got to give it back. It’s all a laugh.

‘I’ve been there when I’ve been on the home team and the home fans are giving one of the away players a bit of stick, so it’s all fun and games. I like it.’

The 27-year-old was relentlessly booed by Leeds fans over the Christmas period, and ended up applauding all four sides of Elland Road in response when withdrawn by Pep Guardiola.

Grealish has drawn criticism for a lack of goal contributions since his £100million move from Aston Villa. But he has retained the trust of his manager and has three assists in his last three games.

Guardiola said that Grealish’s body language had been consistently encouraging, even when he not selected, and that he has a vital role as City fight on four fronts ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup tie against Graham Potter’s Chelsea. And despite attention turning away from the hunt for the club’s fifth league title in six years, Grealish believes City are primed to topple leaders Arsenal, who are five points ahead.

The sides, first and second in the table, meet at the Emirates next month.

‘We just have to try to catch them and win as many games as possible and go on a little run,’ he said.

‘I am sure that if we do we will be ready to pounce if they do slip up. We are second at the moment but all we can do is carry on winning games and putting in good performances.

‘ Beating Chelsea was massive, honestly. We are chasing Arsenal down now and I don’t want to go too much into that. We have unbelievable players in those forward positions, so we know that we are not going to play every single game, but we have to be there and ready when called upon.’