Premier League observations
On Premier League title race
With the way the season has started, I think there's going to be maybe a couple more teams who are capable of putting themselves in the title race with the likes of Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal because the league is so competitive and every team is capable of taking points and winning games.
Chelsea can keep themselves involved. They seem to have really got themselves together for the first time in ages, because for the last few years, they were all over the place. They've really got themselves together, they're playing really well and they've obviously got a really strong squad. I think they can put together a decent season this year.
We know the issues that Man City and Arsenal have had in terms of not being at their best this season. I think that will happen to Liverpool at some stage in the season as well; they will have a little dip.
I think the gap will be closer between the top teams this season. I think the season is set up for an exciting title race and hopefully there will be three or four involved in it.
On the top four
In the top four, I would definitely go with Chelsea at the moment. I think they'll improve and become more consistent as the season goes on. They have a squad that can cope with injuries to key players. They've got so much cover.
From an attacking point of view, they have some wonderful talent. I can’t see them having a dry spell in front of goal at any point in the season because of the quality they’ve got in reserve. They'll always have different creative and attacking options to turn to.
I don't think Chelsea will come close to winning the league, I think they could be in the race for a bit, but, in my eyes, they'd probably be the favourites for fourth place because of the quality they have in the squad.
If you had to name one player in the Premier League that has really stood out for you, who would it be and why?
If I had to pick one star man from the Premier League this season, then I’d go for Mo Salah. The way that he has started the season has been fantastic and, obviously, there's concerns over whether he'll sign another contract, or if this his last year.
I didn't think he finished the back end of the last season very well. It seemed like he had a falling out with Klopp at different times, but he's come back and been fantastic.
His contribution to the team already this season has been huge. For Liverpool to be successful they need him to try and keep at those levels for the rest of the season.
As for his contract, a lot of the time when a player is in the last year of his deal, there’s a lot of unnecessary outside noise rather than the player becoming unsettled or distracted. Top players typically get on with the job and don’t lose sight of their main goal.
He's been brilliant this season, he's so focused on what he wants to do. He's so focused on Liverpool and on his own success. He likes scoring goals, he likes being creative, he likes being talked about. He wants to be back in that Ballon d'Or running.
He's completely focused on himself and on his football and has forgot about any outside noise. Liverpool are the really benefiting from that focus this season.
Which Liverpool contract rebel is likely to go?
I think that Salah might be the one out of the three that would leave. He almost threatened it a couple of years ago, everyone heard the stories that he wanted to move on. I think he's probably getting to the stage where he does want a new challenge.
Like every superstar that leaves, you think it's the end of the world for your football club, but there will always be a replacement. Top clubs always find someone to come in and do the job.
I think Salah's been fantastic for Liverpool. I would imagine the money and the length of contract that he's looking for is probably beyond what Liverpool are willing to go to. Liverpool have got to be true to themselves in terms of the business side of it.
For Salah, he's done everything in the Premier League. If he can finish this season as a champion again, I think that might be the time for him to move on, although I still think he's got plenty and plenty to offer Liverpool.
On David Coote And Referees
Did you ever think certain referees were against you or a certain club?
As players, we had opinions on referees that we didn't like or we didn't want to be involved with because you always feel like things would go against you.
There were certain refs that you didn’t want, because of how they spoke to you, some of them acted like school teachers, all that sort of stuff. That's fine because everyone has an opinion on everything. It’s just how it is as a player, there are some referees that you don’t get on with.
For David Coote to get caught out like that on video, is absolutely insane. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the footage.
Who are the player(s) that you’ve expected more from this season?
It's hard to pick on any one player as someone that has disappointed this season.
If you’re looking at a team, it’s difficult to look beyond Man United. They have underperformed for what their expectations are at the club.
They gave Erik Ten Hag a new contract and expected bigger and brighter things, but there didn't seem to be that investment from the players in to what he was trying to do. They didn't seem to buy in the fact that Ten Hag was staying.
What he wanted to do didn't inspire any of their players, so I think a few of them have come out and said they're disappointed with what they've done in the first period of the season and disappointed that it led to the sacking of Ten Hag.
Between now and the end of the season they've got a new manager. They've got 25 games + to go and prove themselves. A lot of these players will be fighting for their Man United future.
For Man United to be successful, they need their best players trying regardless of who the manager is. They've got a lot to prove over the next seven, eight months.
Who are the best three central defenders in the Premier League at this moment in time and why?
Who are the best three centre backs in the Premier League? Certainly, Van Dijk from Liverpool. I think he's been fantastic again and is leading the pack. He looks like a player that is close to being back at his best again.
There's a lot of talk about Saliba and Gabriel as being two of the best. I don't think they've been on top form this season, so one of them is going to have to miss out. I would out Ibrahima Konate above them at this moment in time.
I think Konate has done really well when he's called upon in 1v1 defending. There's not many players that can get around him. He's quick and strong. Probably those two, and while I don't think Saliba's been at his best, Ill out him in as the third choice.
We saw Erik Ten Hag recently relieved of his duties at Manchester United, which manager do you think has the most to fear about their job security now the Dutchman has gone?
I certainly think Julen Lopetegui at West Ham will be looking over his shoulder in terms of the sack race. He’s under a bit of pressure because West Ham spent a fair bit of money in the summer. The expectations were higher than what we're seeing at the moment.
With Crystal Palace struggling, it looks like Oliver Glasner could be in trouble as well, but it's so hard. I think the Premier League is, at both ends, probably going to be the tightest that we've seen for a long time.
The likes of Crystal Palace and West Ham, we know they can go on good runs, we know they can get themselves out of trouble, so it's just finding that consistency and it seems at the start of the season there's a lot of teams that are missing.
West Ham and Palace are not at their very best, but some of the best teams have been a bit inconsistent too. You see it at the top with Arsenal and City, and we're seeing it down the bottom with the likes of Wolves, Crystal Palace and a few other teams that we expected to be higher up the table.
I'm sure all the club owners will be getting a little bit twitchy and anyone who's not winning games will be starting to feel the pressure. This is really the moment when the results become more important than performances, especially after this final international break this year.
Will players think the PL season truly starts after this break?
Everyone looks forward to the international games and they want to represent their country, but It's almost as soon as the final whistle goes on that second game this week, players know, right, this is it now.
We've got five months of pure Premier League football. There's a lot of games to be played. There's a lot of points to be won.
Once you come out of this period, I think it's March, maybe late February or March when the next internationals come around. The table's set then, you know what you're fighting for towards the end of the season, so these next few months are the ones where you put in the hard work to try and get the rewards at the back end of the season.
On International football
Ireland finish their Nations League group stage with fixtures against Finland (home) and England (away). They come into the games off the back of a victory in Helsinki. How do you think the new manager will be looking to build on that?
Finland and Greece are two very different opponents. These are a pair of games that you can look at and go, ‘We need to attack that and go and win it against Finland.’ With England, you're just hoping that you can nick something.
We know going to Wembley is going to be very difficult so I would imagine the full focus is on the Finland game. If we can beat them, then you travel to England with a little bit more confidence and who knows. All we want is for Ireland to give themselves the best possible chance of qualifying, which we know will be a tall order, because in literally every Nations League campaign we've had, we've been out after two games. We've not been able to get anywhere.
In the Nation's League, we have probably been playing in the wrong level. We should have been down a level, but we’ve been able to stay up because the competition’s changed. The players looked like they're starting to understand what's expected of them in the last couple of games.
Hopefully that can continue, and the players can perform and get a result. If we can manage to get out of the game at Wembley with something, I think the players and the public will be delighted with that. We're realistic in Ireland and we understand it's a very big ask to get anything from England at Wembley.
For me, the most important thing is moving towards the World Cup qualifiers in good spirits, and with a plan to win games and stay in tournaments.
The Nations League is not one of the ones where you go, ‘I can't wait to watch the Nations League.’ It's the least favoured of all the international competitions, but it's huge for Ireland because there are no friendly games, and we need to improve our ranking somehow.
Winning these games is important to us and it gives us a better chance in the season for World Cup qualifying, so it's important. In the past, we've almost treated it as a free hit just to see how the players are and to build a chemistry and understanding in the team. Because of that our ranking has dropped right down, that's where it's been disappointing.
At the end of the day, the plan is to try and qualify for the World Cup, and I still think it's going to be difficult for us to do that. We've got to try and get as close to it as we can. Whether that means getting four or five games into the qualifying group where we're still thinking we have a chance. That would be an improvement on what we've seen over the last few years.
The bar is low for the manager. The expectations aren't massively high. So, he's got an opportunity to go and impress and really get this team moving. If we can get anywhere near qualifying for the World Cup, I think he's done an amazing job.
Is Liverpool’s Kelleher the best back-up goalie in the world?
I think he's fantastic. It's almost cruel to call him the best number two in the world. He's just a very good goalkeeper in his own right. He's unfortunate in the sense that he's up against Alisson, who's one of the best number ones in the world.
It becomes hard, but I think Kelleher’s done himself huge favours this season, and any time he’s come in for Liverpool or Ireland, he’s looked the part. Liverpool have obviously signed a new keeper for next season.
If he’s not at Liverpool, I don't think he'd have a problem getting a club. He's impressed everybody with his performances, with how calm he is. He made two saves from corners at the weekend against Villa, which were fantastic. Every time he plays, his reputation enhances.
I think he's If he does move on from Liverpool, and that would be his own choice, there'll be plenty of clubs who will be willing to take him.
How important it Evan Ferguson to this Ireland team in terms of it finding success?
For any team, if you have someone who can score goals and make such a difference to you, that’s absolutely huge.
He's obviously playing at a very good club in Brighton, and the competition for places is hard for him. It’s probably a little bit of a disappointment the amount of games he's playing but he's still 20. He's still got a long-term plan to be a top, top footballer and I think Brighton believe in him, which is important.
There were signs in the last international window that he was looking sharper than he had done in previous ones. I think the longer he stays fit, whether he's playing games, or just training or being in that environment of being on the pitch all the time, his sharpness will improve. Over the course of the season, I do think we'll start to see the best of Evan Ferguson. He'll score goals. I think he'll be an important player for Brighton, and we hope that he's going to be a huge player for Ireland.
Do you have any concerns that Ferguson hasn’t featured as often as he would have liked to have done for Brighton so far this season?
He’s still coming back from that injury. I know it's been a few months now, but he's still not had that run of games that he needs. Your recovery and your return to sharpness, to the top level, takes that little bit longer, because you're not getting those games.
I don't think there's any worries from Irish fans that It's not happening quickly enough, because it is a long-term thing with Evan. We know that he's got time to become the player that he wants to become. I think over the course of the season, Brighton will use Evan enough that he will be happy with the amount of minutes that he's getting.
Danny Welbeck is in fantastic form. He's been brilliant at the start of the season.
But he's not a player who's always stayed fit. He's not a player who's always been on top form for a full season, which is a long, long time. There will be opportunities for Evan at some stage. It is up to him to take those opportunities when they come around.
On Manchester City
For the first time ever under Pep, City have lost four on the spin. Is this a blip or is it something more concerning?
I would say it's a blip. I think the squad hasn't changed drastically from last season.
The manager is still the same. With that level of player and coach, I don't think they'll be down for too long. I think they've got too much about them for this to be a long-term thing. It's obviously worrying and it's not the norm, but the injuries have taken their toll. I think missing certain players, not being able to give players 90 minutes at times has been a problem.
They're just the victims of the success that they've had in recent years. It's been a long summer for certain players, and it normally takes them a bit of time to recover and to really get back to their best. But they don't usually lose four games in a row, which is unusual, but I do think it's a blip and they'll be back flying again.
When a team and a defence is on that kind of run, how do you address it? How do you fix it?
It's one of those things where if you get too worked up and too involved, it can work against you as a player. Fundamentally, it’s about having a strong mentality and work ethic, that is the only way that you can drag yourself out of a slump.
It's about doing things correctly, doing the basics, running harder than the people that you're playing against. Fighting for your right. For us, it was about fighting for our right to be in the league, fighting for our right to try compete in the Premier League.
For City, it's about fighting for the right to win the Premier League. They've got to fight. Only the players can recover that form and it's only hard work that can do it. It's not going to be Pep who turns around and goes, ‘Listen, we're going to do this differently and we'll win every game for the rest of the season.’ The players have to be 100% committed to turning it around. With that group of players there's never been any doubt about their attitude. There's never been any doubt about how committed they are to the club, so I do think it's just a matter of time before the results change for them.
Some people have suggested that City aren’t as scary as they used to be. That Pep’s period of dominance is coming to an end – what are your thoughts on that?
Missing Dias and Stones is obviously massive. Kyle Walker's been in and out this season. I don't think he's reached his top level yet. You have Simpson-Pusey coming in, who's a young lad trying to stake a claim in the side. The City back four have not been the stable back four that they can always rely on. It has rotated around a little bit.
The Euros and the hangover from that is playing a part. It was a very long season for a lot of these players because they’re all top internationals.
If City go on and win the league, Pep will accept these four defeats because key players have been given a break, a rest. We've seen it before with City. At times they've not been great, but they've managed to win games and maybe they got away with a couple of results earlier in the season.
We've never really focused too much on the rotations but now we’re looking at it a little bit more because City have lost some games. You've got to trust Pep for the success that he's had and the know-how that he's got.
I think the players are probably not feeling great at the moment. long term, I think they'll all benefit from these moments in the season.
We keep thinking it's amazing that they've won three Premier Leagues in a row, then they won four in a row. Football is a very reactionary game and the only reason this is a story is it’s because Man City and Man City don’t lose often. It was always going to happen at some point, the defeats.
You look at Arsenal, who are finding it tough. They've had two seasons where they’ve fought for the Premier League, and this third season they’re getting injuries, they look tired. It is unusual that City were so successful for so long. It’s almost poor from other clubs that they went and won the league again for the fourth time. Somebody should be able to step up and fight them for the league.
The fact that their blip has come at the same time as Arsenal's is worse for Arsenal than it is for City. If City are still in with a shout come the end of the international break when that starts again in March, the other teams will be very scared about what they could do.
I think a lot of people forget that Rodri isn’t there. Has this recent run of form highlighted just how important he is to the club?
If you look at it from the individual himself, he's just won the Ballon d'Or, so people recognize what a top player he is. If you're the best player in the world, and you're not playing, your team is going to miss you. I think Spain will miss him as well in the international break.
What he brings to Man City is so much balance and calmness. He seems to always be in the right position. We’ve spoken about having an unsettled defence. Well, if you've not got your main protector in front of you, it can be very difficult.
He’s such a good player that Pep changed tactics and put two players in his position. They’re excellent players, but they don’t really do the same job and it doesn't have the same effect as having Rodri in there.
Rodri is a huge loss and its one they're going to have to overcome over the next few months, whether that will be by signing someone else or by playing a different style of football, we'll wait and see.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
I think Jahmai Simpson-Pusey’s done well. The manager spoke really highly of him and said that he's performed as he would have wanted him to. When you watch him, he's nice and calm on the ball, his positioning is good.
He's obviously playing alongside experienced players so he's getting that help. There's a lot of youngsters at City who come through and all they do is win. Now, you go into the first team and you’re losing, so it's an experience that the academy players need to have and need to understand.
You need to fight to win games. You need to be on it in every game. You can't just turn up and expect that you're going to win the game because you’re Man City. Him learning that side of the game early on in his first team career is brilliant for him. He obviously would have wished he didn't have to go through this little part, but it will benefit him in the long run.
Listening to what Pep seems to be saying about him, he looks like a player that he will have involved around the first team for the rest of the season, which is a brilliant achievement.
Of course, City are still up there, sat in second. Pep said he loves the challenge and wants the challenge – do those comments give you any confidence that he may yet sign a new contract?
Pep’s obviously in love with the club. He's enjoyed his time there. He defends the club to the maximum. He wants them to perform. He wants them to win every game, every tournament that they're involved in. With Pep, I think that's his way, whether he's leaving in six months or he's not, he's just someone that wants to win everything that he's involved in.
So, whether those post-game comments after Brighton give you the confidence that he's going to stay on or not, I'm not too sure, but I think the fans almost don't want to find out. They just want to enjoy what they've got with him at the moment and just let it be. When he comes out and speaks like that it gives them a nice feeling that he's their manager.
On Aston Villa
Do you have any concerns about Villa’s poor recent results or is this just a little blip?
I would like to say it's more of a blip for Villa at the moment. The only thing that concerns me about Villa was the performance in Bruges. I thought they were very poor; I didn't think they played well at all.
They almost believed that going to Bruges might be too easy for them and they didn't really go on the front foot and deserve to win that game. If that's the attitude, if that sort of thing creeps in, then it will be a difficult season for them and it won't be just a blip.
I think Villa need to get back on track and do what they were doing last season. Just because they've been performing well on the whole, it doesn't mean they’ve become an untouchable team.
They have to work harder than everyone else. They have to be better than everyone else. They have to go and prove it every week again, and I think that's what top teams do.
The likes of Liverpool and Man City, who are always in the Champions League, and every week they do it. They’ll be back in the Champions League again next season, because the very best teams in the Premier League are super consistent. Whereas a team like Newcastle, they could only manage one season. Villa have done it now for one season. Can they do it again? That is where the players need to show that they have the hunger to do it year after year. It’s not easy to do that.
Other than the last fixture, which was lost because of a really bizarre goal, Villa have been magnificent in Europe. Have you been surprised by how well the club had adapted to playing in the competition?
The cheat code that they had was the manager because he's been around those levels, and he is a very skilled operator in Europe.
Emery understands what it takes to win in European games, and he's hugely experienced in European competitions, so he's been able to guide them tactically in terms of what's expected and what's needed, and they've produced it.
The Bayern Munich game was a brilliant match, a brilliant occasion. The defensive performance was brilliant to watch because of the shape that they had, what they forced Bayern Munich to do. It just looked really good and that comes from a manager with experience who knows the competition, so the players need to really listen to every word he's saying because he's the one that can get them through.
I think they've got some tough games coming up, certainly with the form they're in. They've got Juventus, Monaco, Celtic, Leipzig as well. They've got some really tough games coming up and they're going to need to be back on top form to make sure they can squeeze their way through into the next round.
What’s the objective for Villa in the Champions League this season?
The aim certainly would have been the top eight. I think that defeat in Bruges makes that more difficult, but it is still completely doable. I think that should be their ambition because they put themselves in a situation where that is achievable.
They will probably perform better against the likes of Juventus, and the game against Celtic is going to be an incredible occasion. I think they'd accept being in the playoffs, but I think they should really be thinking about pushing for that top eight, because we've seen when they're on form the performances are certainly good enough and they're well capable of being in that level.
Unai Emery has been sensational since coming into the club. Has he demonstrated that he is one of the top managers in England and in terms of other managers in the Premier League, where do you out him?
Emery’s very close to the top. I think tactically he's outstanding. Villa were close to the relegation zone when he took over. In that same period of time, Ten Hag came to Man United, and you look at the difference in the progression of both clubs, it's huge.
It took us all this amount of time and we'd never seen a style of play coming out of Man United. Whereas with Villa, it's very clear and obvious what they're trying to do, what they want to do and the changes from game to game. They can go from a 4-4-2 to 3-4-3. They change it all the time, that's all down to the manager and his demands.
The players are obviously listening to him and respect him. Emery is really close to being up at the very top of the manager pile in the Premier League.
He obviously hasn't got the same resources and squad depth that Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City have, but he's still able to get up there and compete with them. He's done an amazing job, and with all that success, probably interest from other bigger clubs.
On Everton
With the new owners on the way into Everton, are you optimistic about your old clubs future?
I hope I can be optimistic about the future at Everton. I think the fans deserve it. They've been through the mill in recent times, and it's not looked good for them at certain points. I'm hoping that the owners can come and give them a brighter future and give them an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.
They've been trying to survive for so long now, Everton, that it becomes very, very difficult year in, year out. I think moving into the stadium is a chance and opportunity to move on to a brighter future and to make everything better.
These owners are capable of supporting those ambitions and backing the manager. There's no better place to see this hopeful new ear through than in a brand-new stadium.
If they can bring the atmosphere and enthusiasm of a happy Goodison Park into the new stadium, they could be a club that really moves forward quite quickly, because all they need is that backing because they have the support, they have the infrastructure. They have everything.
They just need a bit of financial backing to help them start getting themselves back to where they want to be.
A cloud has lifted over the club with the Friedkin Group coming in. What do Everton need from their new owners? Stability? Financial backing?
I don't think the Everton fans want their club to be in trouble with the Premier League anymore.
Hopefully, they can put all of those financial troubles to bed now and start on an even keel next season with a sense of optimism. They know there's not going to be any problems down the road. You don’t want to keep looking over your shoulder. That brings stability right away.
The fans deserve that ambition from their football club. Short term, I think they will be targeting a push for the top half of the table. Longer term, they will want to be fighting for the top six.
I think that's what Everton fans want, and I think they deserve it. The expectations from the fans will be low to start with but they want to know that their club is going to compete in the near future.
How important was it to keep Jarrad Branthwaite this summer?
I think it was a huge achievement from the club to be able to hold out for the fee that they wanted for Jarrad Branthwaite. I liked that about them in the summer.
To be able to keep a hold of him, straight away you've got the foundation for your next team. The team that's going to challenge for that top ten or the team that's going to challenge for the top six.
If they can secure his services for a long time, he could be there for the next 10 or 15 years and can be the real leader of the Everton revolution. I think it was a huge, important statement for them as a football club.
When new owners go into a club, a managerial change normally follows quickly. Are you expecting that to be the case at Everton?
In football, new owners normally bring their own man in to do things. I think Sean Dyche signed a two-year contract when he came in. His contract may be up at the end of the season, and I think that might be a more natural thing for him to leave when it expires. I don't see them sacking him during the season. I think he's done an amazing job for Everton, and I think he deserves to at least see out the season, and be given the opportunity to prove himself to the owners that he can be the one to lead them forward.
Sean Dyche has been restricted in terms of what he actually can do because of the size of the squad that he's got, the players that he's been given. If he was given money, time and the opportunity to build a squad, I'm sure he could do it as well. But the way it is, new owners tend to go their own way, so it might be difficult for him to stay there.
On Manchester United
Ruben Amorim will be coming into the club after the international break. He’s a highly regarded coach, what do you think of the appointment, and can he bridge the gap between United and City?
It's going to be really difficult for Amorim to bridge the gap on Man City. They're so far behind at the moment. I think to catch City, to catch Arsenal, to catch Liverpool, it is going to be difficult for them over the next 18 months. They have some very good players, and they have obviously a huge backing where they can invest in more players.
They've been missing a style of football for the last two and a half years. They've not had any sort of plan when they go into games. You don't know what you're going to see from day to day when you're United. If you can fix that, you can fix a lot of the problems very quickly.
It has looked like some players don't really understand what their role is, or what their responsibilities are under Erik Ten Hag, and they all seem to be playing individually rather than together. That sort of issue can be fixed in a couple of weeks if the players buy into it.
The players, for too long, have run the show and I think the manager needs to be very strong and very clear about what he wants. Sometimes you go into a squad, you have your way of playing, but the squad doesn't fit. I think he has to make them fit at this time.
Managers have bent over backwards for this group of players, defended them and given them opportunities, and it's time now for those players to step up and prove they're worthy of playing for Man United.
It’s unfortunate that he got rid of Van Nistelrooy, but I think it was the correct thing, and it shows his leadership. He needs to get the backing from the club. Eventually somebody will get Man United back on top, because of the power of the club.
Hugo Viana will be joining City from Sporting in the summer to join the club as a Sporting Director. You would have thought Amorim would have very much been on the club’s radar if Pep decides to call it a day. Do you one of the reasons United pulled the trigger on him was to potentially stop their rivals from taking him in the summer?
I'd be surprised If he Amorim was being lined up as Pep's replacement to be honest, because I think if you've worked with Hugo Viana and he says, ‘Listen, hang on for six months and you can take over at Man City.’ You carry on with Sporting Lisbon. I think Amorim would have found the City job more appealing, so there must have been a clear indication that wasn't going to be happening.
He wants to manage in the Premier League and Man United's as big a club as you can get. It's a great opportunity for him.
For United, I think there would have been a lot of interest in him, certainly the way he's gone. I think he's won 11 games in a row again with Sporting. There would have been a lot of interest in him from clubs, not just in the Premier League, but from around Europe.
They've been very smart, and they've done the right thing by cutting the losses with Ten Hag and moving quickly to get him in. It gives them six or seven months, almost a free hit, where if he just improves them slightly that's good enough for United this season because they're not going to win the league. It's about finding out what he's got. The rest of the season gives them opportunities to really get going for next season.
Richard’s Connections
Your old team mate Vincent Kompany is doing well at Bayern Munich. Do you think he’s destined to become a top manager just like he was a player?
Vincent’s got that level of intelligence. He's not just a football guy, he's a business guy and he understands the workings of different businesses, and I think that will help him in the football side of it in terms of becoming a top, top manager.
As a manager, I think he was always going to stick to his principles. We've seen that with Burnley when they weren't doing great, the results weren't what the club needed, but he stuck to his guns and played the way he wanted to play.
He's very young in manager terms. He's still got a lot of learning to think about – the games in Europe, when he came up against Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, when he came up against Unai Emery with Villa, you can see that there's still areas that he needs to improve on as a manager, but he's a guy who learns quickly.
He's a guy who wants to learn, and he'll put in all the hours and all the hard work that's needed to become the best that he can become. If he continues on the trajectory that he's on, I don't see how he doesn't end up at Man City at some stage. The club and the fans would love to have him back. It's almost like having one of your own back. I think everyone would be really open to it if he keeps on developing.
