Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez has revealed how he deals with competition for places at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola's squad being blessed with world-class talent in depth has been the key to the Blues clinching three Premier League titles across the last four years, although that degree of strength often leaves the City boss with selection headaches on matchdays.
While that's a warmly welcomed problem for Guardiola, it can be quite a different predicament for the players who fall out of contention.
Players such as Raheem Sterling and Aymeric Laporte were handed limited minutes at the Etihad last term, much to their individual frustration.
Mahrez, however, arguably enjoyed his best campaign yet since joining City from Leicester three years ago and this ensured he made 48 appearances across all competitions last season, but what exactly is it like to compete for a place in Guardiola's starting 11?
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“I think I had good numbers last year, but I could’ve had more," Mahrez told City's in-house media's programme notes.
"But my performances were very good, so I was happy. The competition here has helped me a lot to improve my game. The manager as well. He is very demanding, he’s very into little details and he pushes you until the end.
"You have to be strong mentally to go higher and higher. You just have to work hard and play good every game and the manager decides, but if you play very good every game you have more of a chance to play."
