Man City can feel confident about Pep Guardiola succession plan

The longer Pep Guardiola stays at Manchester City and the more he wins, the harder it will be to replace him.

Guardiola is rightly seen as the best coach in the world and a vital figure in the success City have had. Where the club's rise to the top of English football was originally dismissed as being down to money, the fact they have not been knocked off their perch despite the huge money spent by so many rivals has belatedly woken critics up to the idea that it may have something to do with the performance of the players and staff.

Jurgen Klopp has joked about wishing his biggest rival had taken a sabbatical instead of coaching City and three contract extensions are set to take the Catalan up to nine years at the Etihad. Even if that stay does not turn into a full decade, the man following Guardiola into the hot seat will be picking up the biggest poisoned chalice since David Moyes replaced Sir Alex Ferguson.

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Because of the impact Guardiola has had on the league, and the difficulty United have had (and arguably still have) in replacing Ferguson, there is huge interest in City's replacement plan. Current Premier League footballers Michail Antonio and Callum Wilson discussed it on their podcast recently, with Antonio touting Vincent Kompany on the basis that his status at City would allow him the clout to come in and implement a new style.

City do like coaches that have a history with them or the City Football Group because of the shared philosophies, which help to explain why Patrick Vieira still has his champions and why Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has been followed