Nedum Onuoha believes Pep Guardiola likes to keep certain players on their toes by being critical of them in the media.
Manchester City are in a fantastic run of form having won their last 11 games in succession and are going strong in the Premier League title race, the FA Cup and the Champions League.
But Guardiola is never completely satisfied and some players have come in for public constructive feedback.
The Blues boss was concerned about Erling Haaland’s body language in the victory over Everton and then this week said Jack Grealish wasn’t playing as well as he did last season.
It was a clear message to the 28-year-old forward that he needs to get back to his previous high level and Onuoha thinks it’s a ‘good’ one to send.
Nedum Onuoha explains Pep Guardiola’s criticism of players
Speaking on the BBC’s Planet Premier League, Onuoha said: “I will say something but there is someone maybe who may be able to say more what Pep’s like.
“But I think he likes to send out messages to people just to make sure they know what’s required of them.
“I think even in recent weeks he’s started being quite critical of Jack Grealish but a year ago every time someone was criticising Jack, he defended him to the very, very end.
“But he’s reached the different level now to where every detail the manager sees he feels it matters.
“And when he wants to just remind you this is a serious business and if you want to be successful you have to improve.
“Because what got you here won’t get you to the next place. You’ve got to continue to get better and he knows the players.
“It’s a good message for him and I’m sure he would have said it privately as well but now you have to deal with it because it’s a discussion.”
Pep Guardiola knows what he’s doing
Guardiola is an expert man-manager and his handling of Grealish has been perfect.
As Onuoha said, the manager defended Grealish a lot last season, most notably after his very poor performance at home to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League group stage.
Grealish was hooked before the hour but afterwards, Guardiola backed his man in the press, saying his teammates were to blame for not creating good options for him.
Guardiola acted on his words by starting Grealish in the next match against Wolves and his faith was instantly repaid when he scored inside a minute.
He went on to have a great game and season, playing a crucial role in the treble triumph.
This time around Guardiola has taken a critical approach with Grealish and it again worked, with the forward putting in a great response against FC Copenhagen.
Sadly, it lasted just 20 minutes before Grealish hobbled off with a muscle injury. City missed him when he left the field and will continue to do so for however long he’s out.
