With less than four weeks to go until the start of the World Cup, Pep Guardiola has outlined what he wants to see from his Manchester City players over the next couple of weeks.
In the next couple of weeks City's international stars will find out if they have been selected to represent their respective national teams, something that understandably could cause a fair amount of stress and distraction.
Guardiola said he understood that when the subject came up at his press conference on Friday, but with five fixtures left to fulfil before the season pauses for the tournament in Qatar, the manager insisted that his players must stay focused on the task at hand.
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"I would say no, because I am not in the mind of the players. I can't talk on this subject," Pep said when asked if he has noticed his players looking nervous as they await the announcements of World Cup squads.
"I am pretty sure they have on eye on the World Cup. Unfortunately many many players got injured and will miss the World Cup, it's a big blow for them. But I don't know - it's just two weeks before the end [of this half of the season], so now it's the last effort [to be ready], to not get injuries and to be focused and play to maximum in the games. When you lose your attention is when you are at risk [of getting injured]."
Should City's players lose focus then injury is not the only thing they'll be at risk of. City have three Premier League matches to play before the season pauses, and with the Blues currently second in the table and two points behind leaders Arsenal, dropped points could leave them with work to do when the campaign resumes in late December.
The first of City's three league games is a trip to Leicester on Saturday. The Foxes have endured a tough start to the season, but have enjoyed something of a revival in recent weeks.
"Really tough," Guardiola responded when asked what kind of test he is expecting at the King Power Stadium. "[Their] best moment of the season we face them. But it doesn't matter what position [in the table] they are in, always it is tough because of the quality they have, the experienced manager."
That manager, Brendan Rodgers, has been under pressure pretty much since the start of the season. Regardless, he is a coach that Pep greatly admires.
"Especially in the bad moments, he reacts incredibly well. He knows exactly what he has to do. When everything is going well it's easy to be a manager, the problem is how you handle it when it's not going well.
"The expectations are always there at Leicester because of what they've done in the past, winning the Premier League and FA Cup, Community Shield, always being near the top, not qualifying for the Champions League in the final games when it was in their hands.
"It's not easy to handle, but you have seen they have lost or game in their last four or five so that means they are back."
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