Guardiola: Don’t criticise Sterling, Hart

“People say I would not be able to play the same way at Barcelona and Bayern as I will here”.

Pep Guardiola believes the challenge of facing Jose Mourinho – and other top managers in the Premier League – can inspire him to reach new heights.

The Premier League, he suggested, is now the testing ground for any manager, the place where the competition is so ruthless and unyielding there is no room to hide, the place properly to prove yourself.

It wasn’t until the final season of his three-year stay that he began blooding youngsters in – and even then there was too much caution.

“That’s why I am here [at City], to prove myself”, he told reporters at his first official press conference today.

“I will be grateful to this club for the opportunity to come to this club, this country”. Spain is the way it is for the weather, for the history, for many things. But I’m pretty sure it will be completely different.

“What do I think about Kompany? At the end we will see”, the 45-year-old coach said. We need time. But we don’t have time.

“If we are not playing well, the facilities are not the reason for that”.

“It does help perceptions when you say from the beginning, “I’m here to learn”, which he did say”.

Speaking to the English media for the first time on Friday morning, Guardiola was keen to stress that he will give everything in England to show that his demanding style can conquer in the Premier League as well as La Liga and the Bundesliga. “The expectations now are the same and we will try [to achieve them]”. The former Barcelona and Bayern boss spoke of his respect for other coaches, how he hopes to adapt to the English game, his players and several other issues… “At the moment, there’s no doubt about that”.

The 19-year-old has played 32 times for his boyhood club since making his debut in 2015, scoring 13 times, to attract interest from across Europe. But I’m not concerned about that. It’s similar with [Raheem] Sterling.

He thanked the club for “giving him the chance” of coming to England; he praised owner Sheikh Mansour for his support; he hailed the quality of the youth players he is determined to call upon. “I don’t think so”, he added. “That is why I am here”, Guardiola explained. That is a big problem. “I am looking forward to helping him”. But Sterling has the quality. “Yaya is here. I connect with him”.

Speculation over Vincent Kompany’sfuture was quashed as he stated that the captain was a “magnificent central defender” but the thing he wants more than anything from the Belgian was for him to be fit recognising how crucial he is to City’s performances.