DANNY MURPHY: Manchester City are exceptional because Guardiola is the best at ‘managing upwards’ 

As well as being a coaching genius, Pep Guardiola is the best I’ve seen at ‘managing upwards’ – a hugely important part of the modern game.

He has a fantastic budget and players to work with, but it’s not true that he gets everything he wants at the click of his fingers. Two years ago he had set his sights on a top striker, but City were unable to get a deal for Harry Kane or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Some managers would have whined about it for weeks, but there was no posturing from Pep. He just went ahead and found another way to win the league without a licensed striker!

Managers today require more complex skills than ever before. They are part of a huge company that works with a sporting director, chief executive, chairman, owners and major recruiting and medical departments, all of whom will have an opinion.

Guardiola has always openly supported his bosses, even during financial fair play investigations, and City’s success on the pitch is a reflection of the harmony that reigns outside. If there have been disagreements within the building, we don’t know about it. The world sees a united front thanks to Guardiola.

Mail Sport’s Danny Murphy believes Guardiola’s communication skills are key to his success

Director of Football Txiki Begiristain is allowed to carry on with his work calmly and effectively and, as we did at Liverpool when we won trophies under Gerard Houllier, the players work in an environment that has no culture of guilt or excuse.

Guardiola is passionate about winning, but still lets players leave if they want to.

It was daring to let Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko go, but Guardiola turned central defender Nathan Ake into an excellent left-back and did the same with Manuel Akanji.

He hopes Ilkay Gundogan can sign a new contract with the club to stay, but he has put no pressure on either side to force it.

As he moves closer to a historic Treble, it would be remiss to mention the work he does on the turf.

He introduced the idea of ​​full-backs stepping into midfield in possession of the ball, and now everyone has followed suit.

Against Real Madrid, when he was concerned about Vinicius Junior’s pace, he made John Stones the extra man to move into midfield from defense.

The best managers can manage upwards. Jürgen Klopp is also good at it. You won’t hear him scolding the owners if Liverpool don’t sign Jude Bellingham.

Jurgen Klopp is another manager who rates Murphy highly for his communication skills

Guardiola’s work with John Stones this season has played a huge part in City’s Treble pursuit

There’s a reason why so many Guardiola players come back better after being sidelined.

Stones looked tired at City but he’s been great this season. Jack Grealish also looks like a completely different player. No one cares about Phil Foden being left out.

Bernardo Silva was a central midfielder last year, now he replaces Riyad Mahrez on the right who was top scorer last season and did nothing wrong.

It’s all thanks to Pep’s communication and work on the training field – not mind games with his own bosses.