GAUGHAN: Pre-season with Guardiola is the perfect hangover cure

Kalvin Phillips offered some insight the other week when he explained what a pre-season under Pep Guardiola looks like.

‘When I was at Leeds with Marcelo Bielsa, we were running around the track,’ he said. ‘I was getting used to that. I came here and it’s all ball work in short, sharp bursts and tight spaces. Those sessions are so hard.’

It has been known for some time that Manchester City get the round things out on day one but the presumption was that this eased City back in. Clearly not so, and that goes a way to contextualising why Guardiola usually gives his players longer holidays than their rivals, although that was not an option this year given the Treble exploits extended way into June.

Still, there are less than two weeks until the Community Shield at Wembley and City have completed just four full training sessions and one game. The club will hope that death by rondos and Guardiola’s spin on Bielsa’s murderball will whip them into shape in Tokyo’s 35°C wet heat, before then moving on to South Korea later this week.

‘It’s my eighth year now so I’m used to it, it’s part and parcel of the manager’s identity, our identity as a team,’ John Stones said.

’When we look at the stats and what we’re doing day-to-day, it’s like doing a running session, we just do everything with the ball.

’I think it’s a win-win because we’re keeping mentally focused, knowing our roles and responsibilities and knowing what he’s asking of us.

‘It’s about getting back in the rhythm and the little habits that we were so good at last season, we’re not missing out on that time while we’re training because we’re with the ball, we’re in shape.’

Stones again danced as a midfielder during the 5-3 victory over sister club Yokohama F. Marinos on Sunday,