“Jamie Carragher didn’t win one [Premier League] once. Micah Richards didn’t win four Premier Leagues in a row. Never, ever. It’s never happened. I see my team, how they fight, how they press, how they continue until the end and how upset they are after we concede. So I don’t have that feeling.”Maybe I’m wrong and they’re seeing everything that I’m not able to see. But I don’t have that feeling. My feeling is that it’s so difficult to maintain the level of Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea. If we’re able to do it, then we will. This is the target, to maintain the level we are playing at.”

Manchester City have drawn their last three Premier League matches (Image: GETTY)

Guardiola went on to insist that he has no time for mind games after referring to Mikel Arteta when discussing referees at the end of Sunday’s draw with Tottenham. He said in his post-match interview that he would not ‘do a Mikel Arteta comment’ in reference to the Arsenal manager’s fury after losing at Newcastle thanks to a controversial VAR decision.Addressing the topic on Tuesday, Guardiola said: “People say ‘Ah you wanted to make a dig at Mikel’. I didn’t want to make a dig at Mikel. It was a little joke, maybe people didn’t get it. If I want to say something to Mikel I call him. We spoke to each other just one week ago.”Mind games is to play better than the opponents. Mind games is having the ball for 15 minutes, creating chances and chances. The mind games are if you are much better than them. Managers to control the emotions of players before and after? No chance.”