‘PLAYERS ALREADY CHAMPS’

PEP GUARDIOLA has claimed his Manchester City side will still be champions in his eyes – even if they don’t win the title.

And the Spaniard will judge his players on their amazing overall season – not any slip-up in the last three games of the Premier League campaign, starting at Turf Moor against Burnley today.

Guardiola has been bowled over by the way his stars have responded to the challenge of making history with back-to-back domestic titles after ending last season with 100 points and 106 goals.

And whether they win the Premier League and FA Cup or not, he has already deemed the season a success, claiming City have improved from last season.

Guardiola (right) said: “I have this feeling – and I like this feeling – that the team is better than last season because of what they have done.

“They have been down, and tired, but always they have been together. Yes I have no doubt we can improve more. If not it would make no sense to stay together.

“They are a joy to train these guys and, I don’t know how it has happened, but always they are happy to be together and play in this way.

“So why should I judge what we have done if at the last moment, for example, what happened in the Champions League against Tottenham, happens again?

“Always people outside have in their minds, ‘They won, they were right. They lose, they were not right’.

“As a manager I can’t judge just on results that way, I am sorry.

“So when this team is built to stay at the top and we finish say, seventh I don’t know how many points away, after that, yes, we say it was a bad season and we must try to see what we can do.

“But maybe now a bad decision by the referees can happen, a red card in the first minutes and we are out. So now the little details make the difference.”