Paper Round: City players who aren't tough enough can leave

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has told his players that they won’t be at the club if they don’t have the mental toughness to succeed. After a draw with Celtic and a loss to Spurs before the international break, he said: “I always expect the best from my team and my players. To be here, you have to be tough. If you’re not mentally tough, cannot be here.”

Paper Round’s view: In many ways, this is hardly surprising, and hardly even news. Guardiola is not exactly likely to say that those who are mentally weak are the kind of players he likes, and he’s keen on keeping players who can’t deliver their best.

What is notable, though, is that Guardiola has been confident enough to say it so soon into the season, and after just two disappointing mistakes. Instead of solely praising his players to the public, he has made it clear that he is not prepared to drop his exacting standards, and that the pressure remains on the players to stay at the club by impressing him - something that has not always been the case with players and managers at City.

On Monday, Jose Mourinho will take charge of Manchester United against Liverpool for the first time. Liverpool, along with Barcelona, are something of a bete noire for the manager, but even he thinks it’s time for United and Liverpool fans to give it a rest with their chants to one another. The chants, about Hillsborough, Munich, and anything else some of the fans can think of that is offensive, have persisted despite the requests of managers.

Paper Round’s view: As with the Guardiola story above, it is inconceivable that Mourinho would say anything else when prompted. As well as that, it is the right request to make. The fans debase themselves when they stoop to antagonising one another with the most unpleasant chants they can imagine, and it is doubly unwelcome when those affected by either tragedy will be able to hear them. Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine what will be required for either set of fans to actually stop singing them.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is hacked off that his side will play two games in less than 48 hours over the traditionally busy Premier League Christmas period. Klopp said, “Now I have seen the fixtures and I am not too happy. Forty-eight hours is an interesting idea but less than 48 hours I cannot believe... maybe I have to ask someone if we can ask if there will be another time for us at Sunderland.”

Paper Round’s view: There are two sides to this. Klopp knew that when he took over an English club that he would have to deal with the English fixture pile-up over Christmas, so he can hardly be surprised by the busyness of the schedule. Slightly less than 48 hours, compared to 48 hours, is no great difference, and he is not forced to play the same team in each fixture. On the other hand, this is now a ludicrous anachronism and one that needs to change. Not necessarily a winter break, but given the amount of problems players report at the end of their career, and the amount of injuries that accumulate in this period, adjustments should be made to give players a proper, healthy rest, and nobody should be playing two games in such quick succession.