Sarcastic Pep makes his return in response to criticism of his interaction with Jack Grealish

The City manager was asked about his interaction with Grealish during his pre-game press conference ahead of tomorrow’s nights clash with Aston Villa. Sarcastic Pep made his return when he told the media: “Yeah, I do it for the cameras, for my ego. No I’m the famous person in the team, and I don’t get recognised, and I need the cameras for my ego to go to sleep with incredible satisfaction. So that is the reason why. Always I try to criticise the players there and let them feel how bad they are, and especially when Erling (Haaland) scores three goals, the compliments has to be with me. Not with them.”

Read more: Pep Guardiola rules out a key defensive trio of Aston Villa clash.

The criticism of Guardiola’s coaching methods at times does seem ridiculous. Given his track record of success across his managerial career, Guardiola’s methods are proven. The coaching of his players on the pitch is a part of the package that makes Guardiola so successful. It is highly doubtful that he will change his methods due to a small piece of criticism.

While the return of sarcastic Pep was a light-hearted moment, tomorrow’s clash with Aston Villa is a tough game for Manchester City. Unai Emery’s side is fighting for a place in the Champions League and will be no pushover at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow evening. There is no doubt that Guardiola and his team will be focused on the challenge posed by Aston Villa. If it takes the City manager to do more coaching on the pitch to help his team to victory, there is no doubt that Guardiola will do it again to guide his team to victory.