DANNY MURPHY: Manchester City are exceptional because Guardiola is the best at ‘managing up’

Pep Guardiola is not only a genius as a manager, but also the best I have ever seen at ‘managing up’, a very important part of the modern game.

He has a fantastic budget and players to work with, but it’s not true that he gets everything he wants with the snap of his fingers. He had his heart set on a superior centre-forward two years ago, but City couldn’t get a deal for Harry Kane or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Some managers would have spent weeks complaining about it, but Pep didn’t strike a pose. He just got on with things and he found another way to win the league without a recognized striker!

Managers need a more complex skill set today than ever before. They are part of a large corporation in contact with a sports director, a CEO, a president, owners and large medical and recruiting departments, who will all have an opinion.

Guardiola has always publicly supported his bosses, even during financial fair play investigations, and City’s success on the pitch is a reflection of the harmony off it. If there have been disagreements within the building, we don’t hear about them. The world sees a united front thanks to Guardiola.

Mail Sport’s Danny Murphy believes Guardiola’s communication skills are key to his success

Director of football Txiki Begiristain is allowed to carry on with his work calmly and efficiently and, as we did in Liverpool when we won trophies under Gerard Houllier, the players work in an environment that has no culture of blame or excuse.

Guardiola is passionate about winning, but still allows players to leave if they want.

It was bold to let Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko out, but Guardiola turned centre-back Nathan Ake into an excellent left-back and did the same for Manuel Akanji.

He will hope that Ilkay Gundogan can reach a new deal with the club to stay, but he has not pushed either party to force it.

As he approaches a historic treble, it would be remiss not to mention the job he does on the pitch.

He introduced the idea of ​​full-backs coming into midfield with possession, and now everyone has followed suit.

Against Real Madrid, when he was concerned about Vinicius Junior’s pace, he made John Stones the extra man who came into midfield from defence.

The best managers can manage upwards. Jurgen Klopp is also good at it. You won’t hear him criticizing the owners if Liverpool don’t sign Jude Bellingham.

Jurgen Klopp is another manager Murphy rates highly for his communication skills.

Guardiola’s work with John Stones this season has been instrumental in City’s treble chase

There’s a reason why so many of Guardiola’s players come back better after being out.

Stones looked done and dusted at City, but he has been magnificent this season. Jack Grealish also looks like a completely different player. No one is making a fuss about the exclusion of Phil Foden.

Bernardo Silva was a central midfielder last year, now he replaced Riyad Mahrez on the right, who was the top scorer last season and did nothing wrong.

It all depends on Pep’s communication and work on the training ground, and not allowing himself mental games with his own bosses.