Guardiola's level of excellence is ridiculous, says Postecoglou

LONDON : Pep Guardiola has set the standard for rival Premier League coaches to reach and the fact he will remain a thorn in their side for another two years should be welcomed, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said on Friday.

Tottenham visit champions Manchester City on Saturday with Guardiola experiencing his worst run since arriving in 2016 and turning the club into the dominant force in English soccer.

City, who have won 18 trophies under the Spaniard including six of the last seven Premier League titles, have suffered four consecutive defeats in all competitions and have slipped five points behind leaders Liverpool.

Postecoglou, whose inconsistent side are 10th in the standings, is paying little attention to their poor form though and spoke in glowing terms about Guardiola, who he got the better of in a League Cup victory this month.

"I think he's fantastic for the Premier League. He keeps setting the standard, which is great for all of us trying to mow him down," the Australian told reporters.

"I mean, it's not easy to win, in different countries, and I know that he's been at big clubs, but as we've seen recently, that's not necessarily transferable to winning things all the time. You've still got to do it.

"So he's maintained a ridiculous level of excellence. The way his team plays. They're always sort of challenging every opponent they face and I guess his energy to maintain that for so long, I think it's been outstanding.

"He'll go down as one of the greats already and I guess the indication that he's re-signed means there's more to come."

Tottenham will go into the game with several players missing including both their regular centre halves after Postecoglou confirmed that Christian Romero would not be