'Things I like' - Why Pep Guardiola believes Man City will be successful this season

Manchester City have started the season with one win and one defeat but Pep Guardiola is sure they are on the right track this season.

Pep Guardiola is seeing enough from his Manchester City players to believe they will enjoy a good season

Manchester City might still be searching for consistency right now, but Pep Guardiola is certain he has seen enough signs in training and matches to be confident of a successful season.

The Blues suffered a disappointing campaign last term. They finished third in the Premier League, lost in the Champions League play-off round, went out of the League Cup early, and lost the FA Cup final.

Those struggles led to significant investment in January and this summer, but they are continuing to try to find stability, having followed impressive wins against Juventus and Wolves with concerning defeats to Al-Hilal and Tottenham.

Guardiola knows consistency is needed for this season to be declared a success, with City facing fierce competition from Liverpool and Arsenal in the Premier League and perhaps even a resurgent Chelsea. However, what he is seeing, particularly behind closed doors, is giving him reason for optimism.

“The way we are training and the way we are competing, we have to improve, but there are things that I would say are a sign," Guardiola said ahead of Sunday's trip to face Brighton.

“When I see these things in games, like in the United States of America [for the Club World Cup], I like it.

“We won six Premier Leagues in eight years and when the season I wouldn’t say I knew we were going to win the league. But I see things that I like. Even against Spurs I saw many things that I like my teams to do.

“I want to do some of them much, much better, but that is completely normal at this stage of the season.”

City had won four successive Premier League titles until Liverpool took the crown last season and Guardiola has built some outstanding teams during his nine years at the Etihad.

Now, he is approaching the start of another cycle and attempting to build another great team. He resists comparisons with previous incarnations of his Manchester City teams but sees principles that he likes, which gives him confidence for the year ahead.

“If we compare this team with the centurions or the one that won four domestic trophies and trebles and four Premier Leagues in a row, then we are going to lose," he said.

“In the same period as this, with those teams, I didn’t know. Nothing is lineal. Nothing is the same. But there are things that I like.

“Maybe in two months I will say how wrong I was, but right now I have seen, since we travelled to the States for the World Cup, I have seen things that I like.

“I have seen things I recognise for when you make a good season. That doesn’t mean we will win titles. It means I think we will have a good season because I see the principles. I think I will be fine.”

City were more direct at the start of this season, particularly in their 4-0 dismantling of Wolves at Molineux, but Guardiola fiercely rejected claims he was changing his own style.

“Never, ever will I change my beliefs in the way we are going to play," he said.

“But yes I want to attack quick when the opponent is high pressing and we beat the first press. But after that I love to pass the ball a thousand, million, boring times. I love it!

"I love my team to have the ball and pass and pass. I love it. But there are moments when we have to attack quickly - but we have done that since day one when we had Leroy [Sane] and Raheem [Sterling] arriving like machines.

“You want to know a secret on how I want my team to attack? But first tell me the way my opponents are going to defend. Then I will decide how to attack."