Pep Guardiola exclusive interview on Joao Cancelo, Johan Cruyff, Romario and more: 'As a coach you have to anticipate things before they happen'

Pep Guardiola's incendiary comments following Manchester City's win over Tottenham last month dominated the discourse. His scathing assessment of his players' hunger was designed to raise standards, to stop things going wrong before they went wrong.

Buried within the 16-minute stream of consciousness that was his post-match press conference, in the embargoed section that did not appear until later that week, Guardiola acknowledged that he had been there himself. As a 23-year-old Barcelona midfielder.

"I won four Ligas in a row in Spain when I was a football player. In the fifth I was not the same. In the sixth I was not the same. I was not starving enough. Caviar. Madrid beat me. The fifth and the sixth. I understand the players. But I am here to do it."

Speaking to Guardiola before the rematch with Spurs, in a side room at the club's training ground, the air is thick with talk of Joao Cancelo's surprise departure. But the City head coach is in a more relaxed mood. It is a chance to reflect on those parallels.