2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Simon Bajkowski)
Manchester City could do with Rodri back to face Liverpool. Or Ruben Dias, who can improve and organise the whole backline at his commanding best. Or a fully fit Kevin De Bruyne, able to produce moments of matchwinning magic that nobody else in the Premier League can.
Pep Guardiola knows that he can't have any of that in time for Sunday, and there is little chance of overtired legs recovering from the heavy workloads that have been forced upon the small group of players that have avoided injuries this season. What he can do is try to change the mindset to offset those factors. READ MORE: I noticed a Pep change before Liverpool game - and it means City have a crisis READ MORE: Every word from Pep Guardiola ahead of Liverpool vs Man City Jurgen Klopp coined the phrase but City have been mentality monsters for years in order to win four Premier League titles in a row.
"You are tired? F*** you," was a crude but fitting moment captured of Guardiola back in the Centurions season of how the players pushed through physical barriers. The reality can be a lot more nuanced, and City's problems in their six-game winning run have transferred from physical to mental. Tired legs make for tired minds but after the Spurs defeat the manager also referenced that the players were inside their heads with negative thoughts when they suffered bad moments in the game, causing them to relapse rather than respond; Ilkay Gundogan admitted it was particularly tough mentally after the Feyenoord collapse in a game he felt as a defeat rather than a draw.
There is also psychology around Anfield itself, a ground where Guardiola has a wretched record - City's only win there in nine attempts under him came during Covid restrictions when no fans were allowed in the stadium - and last season described as a "tsunami". Mikel Arteta made Arsenal train with speakers blaring out You'll Never Walk Alone in the build-up to one trip to Anfield to try and negate that factor and while City won't be borrowing from that playbook they will still need to be mindful of what is waiting for them. To do that, and to get City out of their slump, the help of club psychologist David Young will be invaluable behind the scenes.
Hired by 2019 after working with the England cricket team , a new book out on City details what an important role he plays for Guardiola. Sources describe his position as a 'special advisor to the minister' as he speaks to the manager regularly to ensure that Guardiola has the players in the best frame of mind and knows how to motivate them all collectively and individually. As well as helping the mentality of those players on the pitch, he is also a vital cog in getting injured stars back into the squad.
It was no surprise to see Young featured in City's documentary on how last season's title success owed so much to a strong mentality and so good has Young been that the England cricket team actually took him back, first in the summer and then for a week in the Caribbean in October. That coincided with City's first defeats of the season, although the psychologist has since returned to help the cause and try to help Guardiola get his team out of their slump. The Blues also had a visit from tennis legend Rafael Nadal this week, who met some of the squad and spoke with his friend Guardiola about how to maintain success over many years.
If the manager could glean anything from Nadal, hearing from a champion who still wants to play but can no longer rely on his body may have been a bit close to the bone of City's situation. "He made an incredible sentence: I love tennis and I want to play tennis but my body said it's enough. In the careers of a football player, there is a moment where your body says it's enough," said Guardiola.
"He wants it desperately but human beings have limits and he was exhausted for many games. Here in football as well. He wants it, he loves tennis, human beings is the limit and his sport was exhausted for many games.
" City desperately want to keep their Premier League crown, and if they can't they want to battle until the end. If Guardiola is to carry the fight, he will need every bit of help he can get and that includes his 'special advisor' Young to lift the team back to where they need to be..
