KIDS TOUGH, CITY
Guardiola tells youngsters they must resist temptations from outside if they want to make it to the top at Etihad
4 Gundogan Mahrez 53 pen, 57
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6, Stones 13, FULHAM Carvalho 4
BY GIDEON BROOKS
PEP GUARDIOLA has warned Manchester City’s academy stars it is up to them to avoid the off-field distractions put in their way if they want to break into his first team.
Manchester City finished dismantling Championship leaders Fulham to book a FA Cup fifth round tie at Peterborough with another two home-grown talents on the field in late substitutes Liam Delap and James McAtee.
And while Guardiola’s warning was not aimed specifically at the pair, he insisted it was vital that all his academy hopefuls continue to make the right lifestyle choices off the pitch.
“I can control on the pitch but to be a top player today you have to be on the pitch and off it,” said the City boss. “I think with Liam it’s not the case because off the pitch his father works at Stoke City and he has come from the world of football so he knows exactly what he has to do.
“But today it is not success to have one or half a good season or two seasons, it’s to have 12, 13 or 14 seasons being there.
“Off the pitch is just as important as on the pitch but we are not guards here, we cannot control them. It depends on them.” Guardiola dropped Jack Grealish and Phil Foden for two matches in December after they were caught staying out late following a 7-0 win over Leeds at the Etihad.
At the time he said: “I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch. And when off the pitch is not proper they are not going to play.”
The warning will have resonated throughout the club given the two were the club record £100million signing and the most cherished diamond to come out of the academy, respectively. Delap, 18, and McAtee, 19, are the next pair to follow Cole Palmer on to the fringes of the first-team set-up and Guardiola name-checked defender Luke Mbete and midfielder Romeo Lavia as another likely duo.
“If they are open and humble and they are OK I am here to improve them,” added Guardiola. “After that it depends on them.
“The plan depends on what they do on and off the pitch.
Today there are a lot of distractions off the pitch. It’s just as important as on the pitch.” City were ruthless against free-scoring Championship leaders Fulham after conceding an early goal, Portuguese midfielder Fabio Carvalho tapping in after good work from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Harry Wilson.
Goals from Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones and two from Riyad Mahrez settled matters. Guardiola was pleased with the reaction from his side against a Fulham side who he made clear he rates highly.
“It is how you react in the bad moments, this is what the big teams do – this is what I want to see,” he said. “Fulham are a top side and I know how hard it is to play against them. “For me it’s sometimes more important than winning 4, 5, 6-0, it’s how we react in the bad moments in the 90 minutes.”