Pep Guardiola spoke to the media before Manchester City's trip to the City Ground this Saturday to face Nottingham Forest; the talking points consisted of Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Steve Cooper, momentum, leadership groups, and why Pep Guardiola is just so good at winning titles.
City are top:
"Arsenal have one game in hand, nothing changed much. We're just thinking about Nottingham Forest..."
"Momentum is when you win ten games in a row, we haven't done that this season. Three games ago we lost at Tottenham. Momentum is tomorrow at three - we have to be ready to play against a team who has lost just one in six, a big crowd, a respected manager. When he [Steve Cooper] took over Nottingham they were in a bad position, now they've been promoted and doing really well."
More on Forest:
"They rely on him [Steve Cooper] in a tough moment earlier in the season and the form is there."
John Stones update:
"He's getting better. Tomorrow? No [he's not available]."
Jack Grealish:
"Obviously he's playing really good. I talk to him about his decision making - the quality was always there but his commitment to take a risk in important decisions is right now making the difference. He has to continue."
Kevin De Bruyne:
"Really good, it's like Jack [Grealish], like everyone. I'm so pleased for everything. But I want more. I have a feeling Kevin and Jack can do more and they can do it. [He] make a fantastic goal [at Arsenal] but I know the demands we have in front of us, tough competition, and we need the players to have the feeling they can do better."
What makes Pep so good?
"I dunno. Maybe when you are manager of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City you have more chance of winning titles, that's an obvious answer. Because in this club you have exceptional players and back room staff helping a lot. I have had many assistants over the years and they have helped a lot."
Mentality monsters:
"We have been [together] many years here, Manu[el Akanji] arrive lately but when you are in the locker room you see things quickly. It's not necessary sometimes to tell them how we're doing, they know exactly who we are. They know they have to do better if they want to compete at the highest level this season. They talk to each other in the canteen and say they need to be better and it's good because in the end they play. They're the artists who work on the pitch, I can't be involved in that."
We're on a title charge:
"[There's] still fifteen games left, a lot of games. but we want to arrive at the last eight or ten near the top of the league to make a last effort. We are in the position that I would have dreamed at the start of the season, I could not expect to be many points ahead after two titles, it's nearly impossible."
Written by: @coIgcra
Some quotes as quoted by Manchester Evening News and Manchester City.
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