Pep Guardiola has taken a provocative approach to fire up his huge brood of talented players as he declared that Jack Grealish is back, as well as new star Jeremy Doku also bristling with form, which gives him the kind of explosive energy he wants anytime on call across his Manchester City squad.
Guardiola wants his players to be on fire and be ready at any moment to leap into action as they warm up for winter.
The Cityzens’ compelling 6-1 victory over Bournemouth moved them to the top of the table 1 point ahead of Tottenham with Jeremy Doku starring in the win with one goal and four assists. This was after he was left out of the team that beat United 3-0 last weekend, with Grealish starting for that match as the preferred one.
Guardiola is apparently enjoying the pleasant headache of having to choose between the two players, depending on the rivals they are up against, yet this is precisely the kind of problem he wants as City embark on a run of 11 games in 37 days between the November international break and the end of the year. With plenty of rotation required, the manager needs his players to be competing with each other in order to give the team the best chance of maintaining their highly-respected competitive edge against opponents.
“I want Jack angry and I want him to play good, and then Doku – be angry that he hasn’t played the last two games. This is the way to maintain the consistency at that level.
“Jack is back. The way he played at Old Trafford to give us more composure and more pausa in that position was decisive for us.
“We need everyone. A lot of games come from many games in the past and everyone has to compete. Jeremy and Jack perform, and I can [also] play both at the same time.”
It isn’t just on the wing where Guardiola has multiple options in form, where with the likes of Manu Akanji and Nathan Ake playing against Bournemouth meant Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol dropped to the bench in defence. Having held concerns over how his players would react after winning the Treble, the City boss has been delighted to see the squad shaping up again for new title challenges.
“What pleased me the most is that where we came from, still in training sessions and meetings and the approach to the game everyone is there,” he said. “Ruben and Josko did not play today and the [other] guys come. If Josko and Ruben are going to play the next game, they have to be there.
“Everyone is going to be incredibly involved and compete with each other. When they don’t play, don’t be angry but train better the next day because the moment is coming and when you are mentally there in the head you will perform well and we will win games and you will be happy and everyone will be happy. This is what we have to do.”