Pep Guardiola says he is shielded from the fervour of the Manchester derby by his focus on the job in hand.
The Manchester City manager was angry this week when he felt his words about the Champions League group game with Club Brugge — when he said it was a "more important" game than the meeting with Manchester United — had been taken out of context.
But the City boss says he cannot afford to get caught up in the emotion that the two sets of fans generate as this meeting of old rivals approaches - and that his work prevents him from getting a true taste of how the city feels when the Blues face off against the Reds.
"I don't feel it," he said. "I wake up in the morning, and come here to the bubble in this centre and I’m 12 or 14 hours here then go home, I'm not in the restaurants, or the pubs.
"I can imagine how important it is for both sides, I have to be cool in mind and head to know what we have to do, to do our best, no more than that. The emotion, try to win the derby and do well. I have to be cold. To know what we have to do, do our best."
And Guardiola said that he has to be on his game, because he feels United — who have won three and drawn one of the last four league derbies - are now better because they signed Cristiano Ronaldo.
"We did good games against them, last season there was boring after the Champions League, five at the back in Leipzig when they could go to the Europa League," he said.
"The other one we were so good up front. With Ronaldo they're even better. We know theor quality, and will try to make a good game. We know ourselves, sometimes win, sometimes lose."
