Pep Guardiola was not being entirely serious when assessing his contribution to Manchester City’s unprecedented winning run.
He argued that less is more: not City’s outstanding defensive record, as they have conceded just four times in 12 games. But less Guardiola.
“We have less meetings. Maybe that is the reason why we are winning because I don’t bother them much,” he smiled ahead of the derby clash with Manchester United on Sunday.
It was an actually an illustration of how City have adapted. Protocols about the numbers of people in rooms have meant many a manager has had to change his methods. Guardiola praised his players for the way they have adjusted to having their lives off the field disrupted.
“The players are like you and me,” he explained. “It is weird, the world we are living in. We cannot go out and make a relation with other people.
"In the world everyone struggles and it is more difficult to do what we want to do: in every job, in every profession, but we were incredibly consistent. The environment in the club and the friendship was amazing.”
He feels his charges have captured “the energy and the moment of the game.”
Or, indeed, of 21 consecutive games, all won. In that time, City have taken a maximum 45 points in the Premier League.
“Fifteen games in a row is incredible,” Guardiola reflected. He has always argued the English winters are the hardest, and because of fixture congestion, not the climate.
“The toughest period of the year here in England, November, December, January and February, we were incredible,” he said. City were ninth when their winning run started. They could go 17 points ahead of Manchester United on Sunday.
“Every week we extend our lead,” he reflected. “It was nine points, then 10, 12, 14.” The consequence is that it is ever likelier that City will regain the title, that everyone else is playing for second.
Guardiola stopped short of saying that City will be champions, but while it is mathematically possible they can be overhauled, he argued that what they have achieved in winter will leave a legacy in itself.
“Nobody is going to take away these three months,” he said. “I'm sorry, these three months belong to us. It is so good. At the end when we can eventually lift our box of special memories and celebrate it.”
Victories breed further victories, he feels. “Every night you sleep better, every day you train better,” he elaborated. “If you win it gives everyone confidence. The message you give to the players, they get it immediately. When you lose you have to convince them more. So, yes, it helps.”
Guardiola has savoured City’s consistency over three months and over 10 years. It precedes his arrival and, while he has signed a contract extension until 2023, he hopes it will outlast his departure.
They are on course for an 11th consecutive top-four finish. A defence anchored by John Stones and Ruben Dias has proved there is life after Vincent Kompany.
“The nicest thing this club has done in the last decade is that every season after winning the title, we were there, the lowest position was second,” he said. Being in the Champions League every year “means you are considered a top, top club.”
Those achievements have come courtesy of three managers and two generations of players. When he is gone, he said: “The club must not say: ‘Oh, Pep is not here anymore’. There is not time to wait. A new one has to do it.
"The players are the same. We would love to have Vincent Kompany eternally. The people who come later have to follow the legacy they start.”
