Guardiola claims Grealish has a 'special quality' he can bring to Man City

Pep Guardiola declared that Jack Grealish is ready to put a patchy season behind him and prove key in Manchester City's fight for silverware.

Grealish has three goals and two assists from 26 appearances so far this term and Guardiola doesn't believe he's yet hit the heights of the Treble campaign.

The 28-year-old was integral in City lifting the three major trophies but has seen summer signing Jeremy Doku regularly picked ahead of him, while two injuries have also hampered his progress.

Grealish has quickly recovered from a groin problem sustained in Copenhagen a fortnight ago and is likely to feature against Luton Town in the FA Cup fifth round tonight.

'Over the last month, Jack is back in terms of many things,' Guardiola said. 'That's why he played an important game in the Champions League in Copenhagen.

'Hopefully he can make the impact he had last season. It depends on him. I try to be fair in my decision.

'He played lots of minutes last season, and this season less in the beginning. He is the same player, he has the same manager, and the way we play has not changed.'

Guardiola added: 'Nothing has changed. It's just the way he has performed. That's the difference. I said from day one: we need him, he has a special quality for our team. We need him. It depends on him. Hopefully he can do a good last three months.

'The players don't have to convince me. They have to convince themselves that they deserve to play.'

Meanwhile, Guardiola revealed that former coach Brian Kidd had told him to pay lip service to the Carabao Cup when he arrived in 2016. City have won the competition four times under the Catalan.

'I remember, Brian Kidd told me, "Ah the Carabao Cup, don't pay attention, play the young players, nobody cares, Sir Alex