Manchester City

Yaya Toure: 'New players must quickly adapt to Pep Guardiola demands'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 07 August 2017

Yaya Toure believes that Manchester City are now better positioned to challenge for silverware after a year's experience of playing under Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has claimed that he and his teammates are now accustomed to life under boss Pep Guardiola and are ready to win games in style.

The Citizens finished third in the Premier League in Guardiola's first campaign at the helm, as the ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich chief endured a trophyless season for the first time in his career.

Guardiola has responded by spending big on a raft of new recruits, including the likes of Bernardo Silva (£42.5m), Kyle Walker (£45m) and Danilo (£26.5m), but Toure has warned that they must hit the ground running if City are to seriously challenge for silverware.

"The mentality of the manager is playing good and winning - not just winning," The Mirror quotes him as saying. "We want the fans to enjoy it and we try to do our best. At Barcelona, I was used to playing like that.

"I'm a type of player with a lot of experience. I am lucky because I used to play under Pep at Barcelona and I know what he wants. I think when the other players got their tactics off the manager and it was a little bit difficult for them.

"But now the core of the team are used to it and the incoming players need to adapt quick because this year is going to be tough. We don't have any more time to learn. We have to do it as soon as possible and be sharp and ready to play."

City kick off their season with a trip to face Brighton & Hove Albion next Saturday evening, before welcoming Everton to the Etihad Stadium nine days later.